Italy said on Friday it was suspending the EU’s border-free Schengen arrangements with Spain for one month in response to a mass influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco.
Italy does not share a land border with Spain but the measure – which looks certain to anger Madrid – will affect people travelling by plane or boat between the two countries, meaning they will need to show a passport to gain access.
Italy’s interior ministry said in a statement it had also agreed with Paris to strengthen controls along the Franco-Italian land border to try to prevent any undocumented migrants from crossing.
Critics of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government dismissed the move as a symbolic gesture aimed at a domestic political audience, with no evidence that the migrants in Ceuta had any intention of heading to Italy.
The decision to halt the Schengen pact came after Spain said it had reversed the rush of migrants into its enclave in North Africa, with most of the more than 50,000 people who had crossed the border heading back voluntarily.
Meloni’s coalition, which came to power in 2022 promising to reduce illegal immigration, has faced strong pressure from a new far-right party led by former army general Roberto Vannacci, whose anti-migrant rhetoric has resonated with some voters.