By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2026-10-01 14:11:52 | Updated at 2026-10-01 22:18:35
12 hours ago
Italy on Wednesday extended its suspension of the Schengen open-borders area agreement with Spain for an additional 15 days.
The mass migrant invasion of the Spanish Exclave of Ceuta in late July prompted the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to immediately suspend the Schengen Agreement with Spain, seeking to ensure the safety of its territory and its citizens as the chaotic events unfolded.
As such, Italy began enforcing air and sea border controls on Spanish citizens travelling inbound.
While the measure was originally indented to only last for about a month, the migrant invasion of Ceuta remains largely unresolved as of the end of September. Italy has extended its Schengen suspension with Spain many times over the past weeks in light of the present circumstances at the Spanish North African exclave.
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In an official press release, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi informed that he decided to maintain border checks at air and sea ports with Spain for an additional 15-day period after meeting and consulting with the Committee for the Analysis of Immigration and Border Security.
“The decision is based on the current situation in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta and, in particular, the persistence of the critical issues already identified,” the statement read.
“The goal is to strengthen the protection of European borders, including to ensure national security, as well as to prevent and counter potential terrorist threats,” the text continued.
The Interior Ministry detailed the measure has already been communicated to the European Commission and to the interior ministers of the other European Union member states.
The Spanish socialist government led by Pedro Sánchez has fiercely opposed Italy’s actions on the matter, and retaliated with a reciprocal suspension of the open borders agreement, enforcing similar border controls on Italian travelers entering its territory that began on August 8.
The Spanish public broadcaster RTVE pointed out that, as of Wednesday night, Spain’s reciprocal suspension of the agreement remains valid through Thursday, October 8.
While the Spanish government has not publicly announced a new reciprocal extension at press time, unnamed Spanish Interior Ministry sources reportedly confirmed to the news service ANSA that Madrid will officially inform Rome over the next hours that it will also extend its border checks on Italian travelers for an additional 15-day period in response.
