Internal borders: Spanish checks on travellers from Italy in force until 7 September

Reciprocity between Rome and Madrid on internal borders now has a deadline in writing, and it is longer than Italy’s. Madrid has also set down in writing the starting time: checks on those arriving from Italy began at midnight on 8 August 2026 and, barring early revocation, will last until 7 September. The measure was formalised with publication in the Spanish Official Gazette and concerns flights and passenger maritime links coming directly from Italy, as reported by Adnkronos.

What is being checked. The checks concern identity and nationality and, for third-country nationals, visa or residence permit, and are applied “randomly.” According to Sky TG24 they affect between 5% and 10% of passengers on flights arriving from Italy. They started at the airports of Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat, later extending to Seville, Malaga, Bilbao, Alicante and Valencia. It is a sample-based system, not a systematic filter: its function is as much political as operational.

The Moncloa’s version. The Spanish government maintains that the Italian checks were introduced “without notice, unilaterally” and that practically all the migrants who entered Ceuta have already returned to Morocco, according to the account by Agenzia Nova. The second claim is where the substance is at stake: if the flow that triggered the crisis has already subsided, the rationale for the Italian checks loses its premise. This is a partisan position, and we record it as such.

The Italian countdown. Since 1 August Italy has reintroduced checks at air and sea borders for those arriving from Spain, following the Ceuta migration crisis. On 7 August, in writing, the presidency of the Council announced that the suspension — the one concerning third-country nationals — would not be reviewed before 15 August, that is today: the same date on which, according to Spanish authorities cited by the press, a new migration wave was expected in Ceuta (Vatican News). The Interior Ministry linked the measure to the “persistent irregular migratory pressure” suffered by Italy, and the government has called for Spain’s exclusion from the Schengen area following the arrival of more than 70,000 people in Ceuta, promoting a critical letter on Madrid’s migration policy (EuropaToday, Sky TG24).

In the material available to this newsroom, no Italian decision on the extension or revocation of the suspension has been announced today. It is the absence that is worth noting: the threshold date indicated by the government has arrived without a public act to resolve it.

Brussels between the two. The European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, has contacted both interior ministers, as reported by LaPresse.

“trust between member states is our most precious resource” — Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration

Both measures are presented by the respective governments as temporary, and each is justified by the other. The concrete result is measurable: until 7 September, those travelling between the two countries by air or sea may be subjected to document checks in both directions, in a space created to eliminate them.