Spain checks 200 Italian arrivals as countries clash over Morrocan migrant crisis at Ceuta border

Spain checked 199 travelers on 12 flights from Italy at six airports on the first day of border controls, reintroduced after a dispute over irregular migration. Spain said controls would last until September 7, while Italy suspended Schengen since August 1 and will maintain checks until at least August 15. The measures follow a mass migration rush of 72,000 people to Ceuta on July 30.

Spain began checking travelers arriving from Italy at its six largest airports on Saturday, the first day of border controls reintroduced following a dispute over irregular migration. The Interior Ministry said it checked 199 people on 12 flights from Italy to airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Alicante and Valencia. Spain announced on Friday that controls for flights and ships from Italy would remain in force until September 7, after Rome applied its own measures, which it said were motivated by the mass migration rush of 72,000 people to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on July 30. Italy has suspended the EU's border-free Schengen arrangements with Spain since August 1 and said it would maintain border controls until at least August 15, involving targeted checks on non-EU nationals arriving from Spain by air or sea. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Italian daily Corriere della Sera that he hopes to lift the suspension soon, as soon as there is no longer any risk. The Schengen Area allows passport-free travel across 29 European countries, though member states can temporarily reintroduce border controls on security or public-order grounds.