An escalating row between Italy and Spain over the Ceuta crisis has threatened to derail freedom of movement within the European Union.
The arrival of tens of thousands of migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, in North Africa, at the end of July has resulted in Italy and Spain reintroducing border checks for travellers between the two countries, causing queues for European citizens. That is a rare scene in the Schengen area of 29 states, which usually allows travellers to move seamlessly between them.
The move is part of a growing trend of border clampdowns as right-wing political parties in particular demand a halt to uncontrolled migration.
But is it likely to be a permanent trend, or a temporary blip?
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani appears to be paving a way out of the crisis, saying checks could be lifted after August 15, as long as there is no new surge of migrants into Ceuta – after calls for more crossings were found on social media by the Spanish press.
Following weeks of feuding with Spain, Mr Tajani offered a conciliatory tone on Monday, even as he reiterated his call for setting up return hubs for migrants in Africa. “Immigration must be managed together. Europe must protect its borders,” he said.
Currently nine EU states have reintroduced border checks, which are required to be temporary and a response to exceptional situations. But some have been in place for years.
Most date back to the 2015 migration crisis. Germany, France, Austria, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have extended them continuously since then. They are largely non-systematic and random.
Migration is the main reason listed, with Berlin, for example, linking checks to “continued serious threats to public security and order posed by continued high levels of irregular migration and migrant smuggling”. Austria says they are required because of “continuous threats to internal security posed by irregular migration along the Balkan routes”.
In June, the European Commission said the checks needed to be lifted and were no longer needed due to the EU adopting rules designed to make entry harder for migrants. Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt pushed back, saying those policies need to be improved.
Internal politics
Italy's decision to introduce checks after the Ceuta incident is widely viewed as political and not a response to an exceptional threat. None of the 70,000 or so migrants that crossed into Ceuta in late July were able to travel to mainland Spain or onwards to other parts of the EU, Spanish authorities have said. Ceuta is outside the Schengen area.
Rather, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is believed to be using the checks for internal political messaging purposes before an election next year. She faces a challenge from a politician from the hard-right, like her – former general Roberto Vannacci – and has sought to rally ranks behind her by attacking the socialist Spanish government.
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Friday denounced Italy's measures as “unjustified” and an “attack on the dignity of the Spanish people”. Speaking to Italian daily La Stampa on Sunday, his Italian counterpart, Mr Tajani, defended the decision, adding: “According to Spanish intelligence, there is a risk of a new wave [of arrivals] by mid-August; keeping the measure in place is a precaution. We hope to lift the suspension soon, as soon as the risk is gone.”
EU Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner has sought to smooth over the situation between Spain and Italy but has stopped short of criticising their decision to suspend Schengen rules. “I was in contact with both the Spanish and Italian Interior Ministers today. Both confirmed that the internal border controls are temporary,” Mr Brunner said on Saturday. “I stressed the progress we’ve made on tackling illegal migration and that trust between member states is our most valuable currency.”
The Commission's apparent unwillingness to push back against border checks has triggered criticism. “Monitoring and enforcing EU rules, including Schengen, is precisely the Commission’s job,” Italian academic Alberto Alemanno told The National.
“Commissioner Brunner and [Commission] President [Ursula] von der Leyen should have flagged immediately that Italy’s border checks were manifestly incompatible with Schengen rules. That would have removed Spain’s justification for retaliating,” said Mr Alemanno, who is a professor at HEC Paris. “Instead, this Commission appears reluctant to use its own prerogatives, being servile to national interests.”
Free movement in the Schengen area, however, is expected to survive. “Schengen has proven resilient before and will survive this too. No citizen wants a return to border controls, which would cost individuals and the economy several points of GDP,” Mr Alemanno added.
