Spain's government on Friday threatened to impose reciprocal entry checks on travelers from Italy, unless Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's governemnt lifts the measures it has implemented by Sunday. 

Italy's right-wing government announced the checks at the height of the social media panic as tens of thousands of people gained entry to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta bordering Morocco last week. 

The checks are essentially symbolic, given that Ceuta is not on the European mainland and Italy and Spain do not share a land border, meaning that the vast majority of people potentially affected are tourists on planes.

Nevertheless, the issue has turned into a point of dispute between two governments of different ideological persuasions with contrasting messaging priorities on migration policy. 

What did Spain say about possible checks on travelers from Italy?

Spain called Italy's decision to impose checks on people arriving from Spain "unjustified, contrary to the interests of the European Union and discriminatory against ​the Spanish population." 

Madrid had objected to the move on several grounds, saying it was based on "spurious arguments."

It said there was no real risk of people who overwhelmed Ceuta's border controls reaching the European mainland, let alone Italy. It pointed to the vast majority of the estimated 72,000 people returning to Morocco within days. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also drew attention to the higher numbers of irregular migrants reaching Italian than Spanish territory in recent years. 

"If [Italy] fails to [remove the entry checks] before Sunday, August 9, Spain will be forced to adopt proportionate measures to protect the interests and dignity of its citizens," the government said. 

Italy replied later Friday that it would not accept "ultimatums ⁠or ⁠impositions" from Madrid, and that it would maintain the suspension of Schengen rules for non-EU nationals arriving from Spain until at least August 15.

Despite Spain's objections, an array of European countries, including Germany, and the European Commission all made comments about the importance of border security to the open-border Schengen Zoneamid the public uproar. Italy was among comparatively few to go so far as to frame the issue as "suspending" Spain's Schengen status, however.

What do we know about Italy's checks on travelers from Spain?

Details on precisely what checks, if any, Italy has actually implemented over the past week have been thin on the ground. 

Migration analyst Gerald Knaus told DW earlier this week that the move was "pure populism" and a "completely bizarre" measure. 

"They don't have a border, so it's only for a few flights," Knaus said. "It makes no sense in the high tourist season. And as Giorgia Meloni indicated, it shouldn't inconvenience travelers." 

Knaus said the decision could only be understood in the context of domestic political appearances, not foreign policy realities.

"I think to understand it, you must understand that on [Meloni's] right, there is a radical right party in Italy that puts pressure on her. And so politicians everywhere in Europe, when they see these images which create fear, are looking for something to say — something to do that makes them look tough." 

Meloni and Sanchez: A clash of styles on migration

At least in terms of their stated positions and approaches, Italy and Spain have quite different stances on the issue of migration.

Meloni came to power in 2022 in Italy, after several years of much higher irregular migration rates and asylum applications caused in large part by the wars in Syria and Ukraine. She promised a tougher line on migration into one of the most common landing points in southern Europe. 

Sanchez, meanwhile, has championed a more pro-migration stance during his two terms in office. He argues that Spain's economy needs migration and offered an amnesty and temporary residency permit process earlier this year to irregular migrants already in the country. Sanchez said it was better to grant residency and start collecting taxes than to keep people out of the formal labor market.

Migration expert Knaus, however, warned against overstating the practical differences between the two countries, saying Meloni faced similar economic requirements and was actually pursuing comparable policies — only with much less public fanfare. 

"Italy is doing something very similar. Hundreds of thousands of people are brought in or are already in the country and are regularized for the Italian labour market under Giorgia Meloni," Knaus said. "And 1.6 million people were regularized under various Italian governments in the last 20 years."

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Edited by: Sean Sinico