The Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, has urged the Spanish Government to "worry about Morocco" instead of Italy after Rome insisted that it will only consider lifting the suspension of the Schengen agreement when the risks completely decrease given the possibility of a new massive irregular entry of people into Spanish national territory this Saturday.
"There is no conflict between us; we have the same objective: yes to regular flows, even on a large scale if necessary, of foreign workers. No to measures like Sánchez's on massive amnesties, which encourage the arrival of even desperate people or people with bad intentions," he argued.
"We are not fighting any battle against Spain; we simply carefully control arrivals and we have already prevented the passage of people who had no right to enter Italy. Instead of worrying about us, Spain should worry about Morocco: that is where the problems originate, not in our controls, which serve to prevent illegal immigrants and, worse still, potential terrorists, from reaching Europe," he said in an interview with the newspaper 'Corriere della Sera'.
Tajani has thus stated that the authorities will assess whether the "alarms" about a possible entry of migrants into Ceuta from Morocco this Saturday "are well founded" to act accordingly. "Without dramatizing the situation. The Schengen area has been suspended for more than two years with Slovenia precisely because it is another gateway to Italy and Europe that is at risk," he defended during the interview, collected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The Spanish Intelligence services have already warned about the risk of a new wave of arrivals in Ceuta, and with it the specific threat of Islamist terrorism. And if it is evident to them, why should we underestimate it?" he argued.
Regarding the measure announced by Germany that it will return to Italy irregular migrants who enter through the borders of this country, he explained that it is being debated "while waiting for the rules for the implementation of the treaty to be decided in Europe."
This comes just days after the Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, stated during a parliamentary committee that the "only" thing that moves the Italian Government is "the protection of national security."
"I would like to reiterate that our decision to temporarily reestablish border, air and maritime controls at the internal borders is not a measure directed against Spain or any other partner. Any act of this style with respect to Spain, a country linked to us by historical ties of friendship and brotherhood, is out of the question," he said.
