Spain extends border controls on arrivals from Italy until the 22nd
Madrid, Sept 5 (KUNA) -- The Spanish government announced on Saturday the extension of border controls at airports and seaports for travelers arriving from Italy until September 22, following Rome’s decision to extend controls on passengers arriving from Spain. The official gazette in Spain published the decision, keeping the controls, which were reimposed on August 8, in force for an additional 15 days starting from midnight on September 8 until midnight on September 22.
The Spanish Ministry of Interior stated that “the threat to public order and internal security on which the original decision was based remains in place, necessitating a temporary extension of the controls,” adding that these measures would remain subject to continuous assessment and could be lifted before the scheduled date if the threats subsided or could be addressed through less restrictive means.
The controls cover air flights and passenger sea transport services for travelers arriving from Italy. Random checks on passengers will include verification of identity and nationality, while third-country nationals will be required to present a visa or residence permit, as applicable.
Spain imposed these restrictions on August 8 for 30 days “due to the ongoing pressure of irregular migration facing Italy,” in a reciprocal response to Rome’s decision to impose checks on arrivals from Spain at its ports and airports following a mass crossing of migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
The crisis between Madrid and Rome erupted after more than 70,000 migrants entered Spanish Ceuta illegally from Morocco on July 30 and 31, prompting Italian authorities to impose temporary controls on their internal borders against travelers arriving from Spain for security reasons and concerns about the transfer of irregular migrants from Spain to other European countries.
Rome announced on September 1 the extension of these controls for 15 days, despite Spain’s calls to lift the restrictions and its insistence that “the overwhelming majority” of migrants who entered Ceuta irregularly have already returned to Morocco, and that no one can effectively leave Ceuta or Melilla for mainland Spain without passing through police checkpoints and having their identity verified.
Schengen rules allow for the exceptional reimposition of temporary controls on the internal borders of member states when facing a serious threat to public order or internal security, provided that measures are limited in scope and duration to what is strictly necessary to address the threat. (End) H.N.D.
