Italy has moved to reimpose checks on travel from Spain, saying it will temporarily suspend the European Union’s border-free Schengen arrangements after a mass surge of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco.
Although Italy and Spain do not share a land frontier, the decision is set to ripple through air and sea routes between the two countries, requiring travellers to present passports when crossing, a step likely to irritate Madrid.
The Schengen Area, which covers 29 European countries, normally permits passport-free movement, but it allows member states to restore border controls for limited periods on grounds linked to security or public order.
Italy’s interior ministry said it had also reached an understanding with Paris to tighten checks along the Franco-Italian land border, aiming to stop undocumented migrants from moving across.
Opponents of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government derided the announcement as political theatre for voters at home, arguing there was no sign those who entered Ceuta planned to travel to Italy.
Watch: Moment migrants rush into Spain’s Ceuta from Morocco
Rome’s decision followed Spain’s insistence that it had already begun to reverse the border rush in its North African territory, with most of the more than 50,000 people who crossed returning voluntarily.
Ms Meloni’s coalition, elected in 2022 on promises to curb illegal immigration, has come under renewed pressure from a new far-right party led by former army general Roberto Vannacci, whose hardline anti-migrant message has struck a chord with some voters.
As migration again dominates the news cycle, the Italian government has tried to project a firm line on border security, while centre-left rivals accused it of chasing populist sentiment.
“The problem is that this is a purely demagogic proposal, as usual designed for domestic consumption and to compete with Vannacci, without solving anything at all,” said Piero De Luca, a senior politician with the centre-left Democratic Party.
Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish autonomous cities on Morocco’s northern coast, represent the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. Both frequently see spikes in attempted crossings by people trying to reach Europe, but the scale of yesterday’s movement was described as extraordinary.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said about 50,000 people had crossed since yesterday morning and estimated that roughly 37,500 had already turned back.
Juan Jesus Vivas, who heads Ceuta’s local government, said the number who entered over the past couple of days could be as high as 60,000.
Security forces vehicles lined up in the Spanish territory of Ceuta
The Spanish government’s representative in Ceuta said 57 bodies had been recovered on the Spanish side of the border and warned there could be more casualties on the Moroccan side. Officials said some people drowned and others were crushed while trying to scale the breakwater supporting the border fence.
Moroccan forces, using batons and tear gas, pushed back crowds at Ceuta’s gates as they attempted to prevent further storming into the small Spanish territory that extends from Morocco into the Mediterranean.
The sudden border pressure exposed fault lines across Europe, with leaders in other EU countries urging Spain to make sure the situation was brought under control.
Right-wing parties in several countries blamed the turmoil on what they described as Spain’s relatively permissive migration approach, pointing in particular to an amnesty granted to hundreds of thousands of unauthorised migrants this year.
France said it was stepping up checks on its border with Spain.
People gather along the fence at the site of clashes near Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border
US President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Spain’s Socialist-led government, also weighed in on the events in Ceuta.
“That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in,” Fox News cited him as saying, a reference to the next presidential election.
On the ground at the border, Reuters reported Moroccan police in riot gear firing tear gas to disperse groups gathered near the fencing. Water cannon vehicles were deployed, and the charred remains of a bus and seven cars were visible after clashes with crowds.
Across the divide, Spanish military vehicles were positioned along stretches of the border, while dozens of migrants watched from a hilltop in Morocco, unable to get through.
Reuters also saw several hundred people making their way back into Morocco via border posts and holes in the fence, with some saying they were unable to find food or shelter in Ceuta.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez travelled to Ceuta today, where protesters greeted him with insults.
He described the mass entry as “a violation of Spain’s territorial sovereignty” and said officials were accelerating the repatriation of those who had entered illegally, with Morocco fully cooperating.
Moroccan security forces using water canon to disperse the crowds near Fnideq
In a post on X, the Guardia Civil police association AUGC said too few officers had been deployed to monitor the fence during yesterday’s surge, leaving them unable to stop the rush.
Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres said one factor behind the influx may have been a Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier this month holding that migrants intercepted at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be summarily rejected at the border, though experts say the decision does not rule out their expulsion.
On Morocco’s side, thousands of migrants streamed into the town of Fnideq overnight even as a reinforced security presence thwarted most crossing attempts. Some began leaving again later today.
While the main crossing appeared blocked, groups moved along the coastline looking for other ways around the fence.
Migration remains among Europe’s most polarising issues, fuelling the rise of far-right parties and prompting tougher stances from much of the political mainstream.
Spain’s government, which has stood apart from the wider European shift toward tighter rules, says it remains firm against illegal crossings but argues immigration benefits Spain and helps power its fast-growing economy.
It recently offered a mass amnesty, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to seek legal residency over the past few months.
