MADRID/ROME, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Spain’s government said on Friday it would establish border controls for flights and ships from Italy from midnight on Saturday until September 7 in a dispute with the neighbouring country over irregular migration.
Passport, nationality and visa checks would be conducted for Italian passengers and visitors from other countries arriving from Italy “amid the persistent irregular migratory pressure” from the country.
Spain said the measures would apply while Italy applied its own measures which it said were motivated by the mass migration rush by 72,000 people on Spain’s African enclave of Ceuta on July 30.
Earlier on Friday, Italy said it would not bow to “ultimatums or impositions” from Spain and would maintain border controls on arrivals from the country until at least August 15.
Spain threatened earlier on Friday to impose reciprocal measures on travelers from Italy unless Rome lifted by Sunday the border controls it imposed last week, following a mass influx of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
In a statement, the Italian government said it would only reconsider its decision once it was certain there were no security or terrorism risks, no new migration wave and no irregular migrants heading towards European territory.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, Aislinn Laing, Graham Keeley; Editing by Gavin Jones and Alistair Bell)
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