Italy suspends Schengen free movement
Photo: Francisco Seco /AP/TT

Italy suspends Schengen free movement cooperation with Spain amid Ceuta migrant crisis

Italy is suspending Schengen cooperation on free movement with Spain, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement, Reuters news agency reports on its website. This is due to the migrant crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

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The Italian Interior Ministry also states that Italy and France have agreed to strengthen controls at the French-Italian border.

The announcement comes after Italy and several other EU countries reacted strongly to developments in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, where an estimated 50,000 migrants have entered. The majority of people have since returned to Morocco.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni previously wrote on X that Spain could be excluded from the Schengen cooperation. This was also supported by, among others, Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Not legally possible

But excluding a country completely from Schengen is not legally possible, former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a post on X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the dramatic events are "unacceptable."

"We cannot allow anyone to come to our union without abiding by our rules," she said in a statement on social media.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for his part, demands that Morocco "take back the illegal migrants immediately."

France and Britain announce that they are ready to help Spain, while France announces stricter border controls against Spain.

"I have given instructions to immediately reinforce controls at the Spanish border," writes French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez on X.

Trump: “Terrible”

US President, Republican Donald Trump, says that the migrant crisis in Spanish Ceuta is what the US will face if the Democrats win the election.

"It's terrible. Remember this picture. This is going to happen to us within three years if the wrong side gets elected," he told Fox News.

Vice President JD Vance posted photos of the migrants in Ceuta on X.

“These images from Spain are an unfortunate reminder of the consequences of mass immigration,” he writes.

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AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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