Italy plans to close the Schengen Area with Spain following Ceuta's migratory crisis

The migration crisis in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in the coast of Morocco, have provoked all kinds of political reactions... and even a diplomatic crisis between Spain and Italy. Giorgia Meloni, Italian PM, posted on Thursday night that they will take "extraordinary measures" that will include the suspension of the Schengen Area with Spain, which would force Spanish travellers to carry their passports and go through additional border measures.

The far-right Prime Minister claims that the images show that "uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe's borders" and after a discussion with the Italian Interior Minister, they will "intervene with extraordinary measures to defend the borders and the safety of citizens, including the suspension of the Schengen Area with Spain."

Antonio Tajani, Italy's Foreign Affairs Minister, also agreed on closing the Schengen Area to Spain, and linked the events in Ceuta (which are heavily suspected to have been orchestrated by the Moroccan government, with the support of the United States, as a political tool to increase pressure against Spain following a recent commercial agreement between Spain and Morocco's rival country Algeria) to the decision of the Spanish Government to "grant citizenship to over 500,000 irregular immigrants" according to Tajani, which is not what happened: between April and June 2026, the Spanish government, as an extraordinary measure, granted migrants in irregular situation the right to reside and work for one year and access the social and healthcare services, but did not grant them Spanish citizenship.

Spain's Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares has summoned the Italian ambassador to discuss the situation. Even during the night, hundreds of Moroccan are trying to cross the border in Ceuta and now also Melilla. At least 10 migrants have died at the time of writing.