Italy calls Schengen suspension with Spain "temporary" amid migration crisis

Italy has said its decision to suspend the Schengen free-movement regime at its border with Spain is a temporary and precautionary step, taken in response to a surge in irregular migration rather than as a political move against Madrid.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi made the remarks during an emergency videoconference with European Union counterparts, convened at Rome’s request following a sharp escalation of migrant arrivals in Ceuta.

“This measure (the suspension of the Schengen Agreement — ed.) is not directed against Spain or any other partner country. This decision is preventive in nature, aimed at better ensuring national security and maintaining control over the situation within the EU,” Piantedosi said, according to Corriere della Sera.

The Italian minister used the meeting to call for a coordinated European response, including what he described as a “new method” for managing migration flows through the use of reception centres in third countries. The proposal, widely reported in recent days, would involve relocating migrants outside the EU while their status is processed.

“It is necessary to act together, as a single bloc, applying new models for managing migration flows. First, to prevent the departure of migrants and to apply deportation practices to those who are not entitled to asylum,” he said.

Countries under consideration for hosting such temporary facilities include several African states — Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana — as well as Tunisia and Libya. The proposal also extends beyond Africa to include Uzbekistan and Armenia.

However, the plan faces significant political and legal hurdles. Italy has already signed a bilateral agreement with Albania to establish a migration centre under Italian jurisdiction, but the project has yet to become operational due to resistance from domestic judicial authorities. Meanwhile, officials in Montenegro and Armenia have denied holding talks with the EU on hosting such centres, and governments in Tunisia and Libya have rejected the idea outright.

The developments come after a sharp increase in migrant arrivals in Ceuta in late July, when tens of thousands of people entered the Spanish enclave by swimming or bypassing a breakwater that separates it from Morocco. In response, Spain deployed military personnel to support security operations in the territory.

Italy’s temporary suspension of Schengen rules with Spain has added strain to bilateral relations, highlighting broader tensions within the EU over how to manage migration pressures at its external borders.

By Tamilla Hasanova