The Italian government has ordered the closure of its sea and air borders with Spain and suspended the Schengen Agreement, citing the migrant crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, according to reports. The move escalates a diplomatic crisis between the two EU members.
The Italian government has ordered the closure of its sea and air borders with Spain and suspended the Schengen Agreement, according to reports confirmed on Friday evening. The move escalates a diplomatic crisis between the two EU members over the migrant situation in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Reports first emerged earlier on Friday evening (19:02 Jerusalem) that Italy had called for the closure of the Schengen border with Spain, with Finland and Austria joining the call. Unconfirmed reports from a geopolitical monitoring channel indicated that Italy had suspended the Schengen agreement. A Hebrew-language a monitored channel reported that Italy had closed its open border with Spain, citing the Spanish regime as a threat to Europe. By the same time, the Italian interior ministry had ordered the closure of land and sea borders. The latest reports, now confirmed by multiple sources, indicate that the closure of sea and air borders and suspension of the Schengen agreement have been ordered.
As The Zioneer reported earlier on Friday, the migrant crisis in Ceuta has seen over 20,000 migrants cross from Morocco, with a court ruling blocking the immediate repatriation of migrants arriving by sea. France has ordered reinforced border controls with Spain, and Denmark's prime minister has called for the EU to consider suspending Schengen cooperation. Spain summoned the Italian ambassador in Madrid after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani supported closing the Schengen border, with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares calling the statement "unbecoming of a foreign minister of a friend and partner."
Official confirmation from the Italian government in Rome or from Madrid has not yet been issued, and the reports remain unverified by official sources.
5 developments
- StrongItaly and Spain impose mutual border checks amid Ceuta crisis
- DevelopingSpain summons Italian ambassador after Tajani backs closing Schengen border over Ceuta migrant crisis
- DevelopingSpanish interior minister: illegal entrants to Ceuta will not be allowed to stay in Spain
- DevelopingMacron orders reinforced border controls with Spain amid Ceuta migrant crisis
Source and signal
- Open-source intake