Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Thursday voiced support for introducing border controls within the Schengen Area with Spain following the recent surge in irregular migrant arrivals to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
“I support closing the Schengen Area with Spain, and I have full confidence in the actions of Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi,” Tajani wrote on social media. “Irregular and uncontrolled immigration represents a danger to national security.”
Tajani argued that the latest developments in Ceuta demonstrate what he described as the consequences of Spain’s migration policies.
“The images coming from Ceuta show how profoundly wrong the Madrid government’s decision to grant Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship to more than 500,000 irregular immigrants is, and how it encourages human trafficking,” he said.
His comments came after Ceuta experienced its largest migration wave since May 2021, with thousands of people, most of them Moroccan nationals, attempting to reach the enclave by swimming around the Tarajal breakwater or crossing near the border fence. The arrivals included women, children and unaccompanied minors.
Under Schengen rules, member states may temporarily reintroduce internal border controls in exceptional circumstances, such as serious threats to public security or large-scale migration pressures. Tajani did not specify whether he was calling for a temporary measure or a broader suspension of free movement with Spain.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Madrid and Rabat were working together to restore normality, while Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska is scheduled to travel to Ceuta on Friday to oversee the government’s response on the ground.
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