Burak Bir
31 July 2026•Update: 31 July 2026
Italy on Friday suspended the Schengen agreement with Spain, closing its air and sea borders amid the recent influx of irregular migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, national news agency ANSA reported.
The Interior Ministry ordered the closure following the entry of about 50,000 migrants into Ceuta since Thursday.
The decision followed an assessment by the Committee on Analysis of Immigration and Border Security, chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani defended the decision, saying the temporary suspension of Schengen was a "necessary choice to safeguard the security of our citizens and defend the European borders."
"A measure provided for by the treaties and made unavoidable today," he wrote on the US social media company X, adding that the migrant influx in Ceuta reminds them that the management of the EU's borders is a shared responsibility for the members.
"We must work together to prevent uncontrolled migrant flows from entering EU territory, with all the consequent risks and the threat of terrorism, which must be countered without hesitation," said Tajani.
Earlier on Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the mass arrival of migrants into Ceuta as "an attack" and "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity," pledging to restore normality "as soon as possible."
According to Spain's Interior Ministry, more than 48,000 of the roughly 50,000 migrants who entered Ceuta irregularly since Thursday have already returned to Morocco.
