Italy aligns Schengen suspension with Spain, moving towards a solution

According to sources at Palazzo Chigi, over the next week the respective Interior Ministers will work together to evaluate cooperation measures

Italy aligns with Madrid and extends temporary controls on connections with Spain by 7 days. This is what we learned from Palazzo Chigi sources following a discussion between the two countries, at the end of which the Italian government decided to comply with the expiry of the Spanish measures. Over the next week the respective Interior Ministers will work together to evaluate cooperation measures. Sources from the Spanish delegation in Brussels also commented on Rome's decision, confirming that the Interior Ministers of Spain and Italy "will work in the next few days to proceed with the elimination of the Schengen controls" mutually established by the two countries.

The decision of the Interior Ministry

Italy's Schengen suspension against Spain, decided after the migration crisis in Ceuta, was due to expire last night. The border controls were confirmed on 30 September by the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, who spoke of "critical issues" still due to the "situation in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta".

The Schengen Agreement

The Schengen area is the European area that allows people to travel freely from one country to another without having to go through border controls. This space includes most of the countries of the European Union, but does not completely coincide with it. In fact, some non-EU countries, such as Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, are part of the Schengen area. On the contrary, some EU countries are not part of it, such as Ireland. According to the agreement, in normal situations, one does not have to show one's passport at any internal border while checks are provided at the external borders. In exceptional situations, such as the Ceuta crisis, a State can temporarily reintroduce internal border controls: a suspension of Schengen justified by security threats, health emergencies or particular problems related to immigration.