Spain-Italy Heated Due to Proposal to Suspend Schengen Due to Migrant Waves
JAKARTA - The Spanish government has summoned the Italian ambassador to Madrid after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for a suspension of Spain's participation in the Schengen area.
The call came amid a diplomatic dispute over a surge in migrant arrivals in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares condemned Tajani's statement and announced that the Italian Ambassador had been summoned.
"This message is not appropriate to be delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of a partner and friendly country, from which we expect European solidarity, not partisan demagogy. Today's events are related to a court ruling and have nothing to do with the content of the upload. I will call the Italian Ambassador tomorrow," wrote Albares on the X social media platform, reported by ANTARA from Anadolu.
Tajani previously expressed support for suspending Spain's participation in the Schengen area and linked it to the migration crisis in Ceuta.
"I support the closure of the Schengen area for Spain," Tajani wrote on X.
He argued that "uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a threat to national security."
"The images coming from Ceuta show that the decision of the Madrid Government to grant Spanish citizenship, and thus European citizenship, to more than 500,000 illegal immigrants is a very wrong step and encourages human trafficking," he added.
Thousands of Moroccan youths gathered on Thursday, July 30, near the border separating the Moroccan city of Castillejos and Ceuta in an allegedly coordinated attempt to enter Spanish territory, according to the EFE news agency.
EFE reported that hundreds of people climbed the border fence, while others headed for the breakers and entered the sea in an attempt to reach Ceuta.
According to EFE, Moroccan security forces set up barricades in a number of locations and detained several people. However, many other groups continued to move towards the border.
The news agency said the movement of the masses coincided with the celebration of the 27th year of the ascension of King Mohammed VI.
Meanwhile, Moroccan authorities said they did not know the cause of the large crowd gathering in the border area.
The Spanish government also announced that the armed forces would be deployed to help the Civil Guard maintain security throughout the city.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska are scheduled to visit Ceuta on Friday to review the situation on the ground.