Italy is preparing to extend temporary border controls on travellers arriving from Spain for another week, as the two countries seek to resolve a dispute over migration-related restrictions within Europe’s Schengen area.
Government sources told Italian news agency ANSA on Friday that the extension would bring Italy’s measures into closer alignment with border checks recently renewed by Spain.
The interior ministers of both countries are expected to hold discussions in the coming days aimed at finding a way to lift the restrictions.
Spain has already extended its temporary controls on passengers arriving from Italy by air and sea for another 15 days, keeping the measures in place until October 22.
The dispute began after Italy introduced checks on arrivals from Spain following a significant influx of migrants into the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta in late July.
Approximately 72,000 migrants reportedly entered Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco during that period, prompting heightened concerns over migration movements.
Spain subsequently introduced its own controls on travellers arriving from Italy on August 8.
Spanish authorities formally justified those measures by citing migration pressures along the Central Mediterranean route, as well as concerns about unauthorised onward travel from Italy into other Schengen countries, including Spain.
The Schengen Agreement generally allows people to travel between participating European countries without routine internal border checks, although governments can temporarily reintroduce controls under specified circumstances.
The latest extensions mean that travellers moving between Italy and Spain may continue to face additional checks while officials negotiate a possible return to normal border arrangements.
No agreement to remove the restrictions has yet been announced.