The governments of Spain and Italy have agreed to end reciprocal controls at internal borders that had remained in force since the Executive of Giorgia Meloni decided to activate this measure in response to the crisis in Ceuta, following the irregular entry of thousands of migrants from Morocco at the end of July.
According to the Ministry of Interior, the decision not to extend these controls has been “taken after a thorough analysis of the situation” and “will be accompanied by a reinforcement of information exchange to guarantee the full security of the common Schengen area”.
Conversation between the Ministers of Interior
The agreement came after a telephone conversation between the Spanish Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and his Italian counterpart, Matteo Piantedosi, a call that was scheduled following the meeting held on the sidelines of the European Council between the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
During the last summit of European leaders held in Brussels, Sánchez and Meloni brought positions closer for the suppression of Schengen controls that Italy introduced at the beginning of August, a few days after the arrival of more than 70,000 people to the autonomous city of Ceuta.
Sánchez and Meloni's assignment to their ministers
Both heads of government instructed their ministers last Friday, October 16, to materialize that agreement within the next seven days. While these conversations were advancing, Italy decided to extend controls at ports and airports for passengers from Spain for another week, a measure that had its corresponding countermeasure from the Government of Pedro Sánchez for travelers arriving from Italy.
In response to that Italian decision, the Spanish Government had been periodically extending the temporary reestablishment of controls at Spanish internal air and sea borders regarding flights and sea links for passengers from the Italian Republic.
Substitute measures and Schengen framework
Italian sources consulted by Europa Press explained that the Interior Ministers of both countries would work to “jointly assess substitute cooperation measures”, while, on the Spanish side, it was specified that action would be taken to “proceed with the elimination” of controls.
Although the reintroduction of border controls between Member States is provided for by the Schengen Code, the European Commission has on various occasions argued that it should be a “last resort” option and has urged governments to seek alternatives that allow for reinforced surveillance without suspending free movement.
Among the substitute measures that Brussels has previously proposed to other countries that systematically maintain controls that should be punctual, such as Germany, Austria, or France, are the reinforcement of joint police action for non-systematic controls, information exchange, and better use of technology, for example through mobile biometric identification systems or vehicle tracking.