Ceuta, Meloni suspends Schengen and the left rises up: a battle after the invasion | Libero Quotidiano.it

Italy suspends the Schengen agreement with Spain. For one month, the free movement regime will no longer apply, but border police at ports and airports will carry out checks, described by the Interior Ministry as “targeted and selective,” on non-European citizens coming from the Iberian country. This is the reaction of Giorgia Meloni and her government to the images of the migrant assault on Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in Morocco. It is necessary, the prime minister explains, “to protect national security and prevent possible repercussions for our nation.” The first result is a diplomatic crisis with Madrid, where Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez notes that “solidarity and empathy are optional, respect for EU Treaties is not,” recalling Frontex data according to which between 2021 and 2026 Italy was the main entry point for irregular migrants, 478,600.

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Brussels also reacts coldly, emphasizing that the situation in Ceuta is “unacceptable” but “no flows” are reported from the enclave which, like Melilla, is “an external border, and the necessary controls are in place.” In Italy, the opposition harshly criticizes the government’s move. The assessments initiated at Palazzo Chigi in response to the Ceuta crisis are being deepened in a meeting of the Immigration and Border Security Analysis Committee. Meloni has international contacts with several leaders, starting with Danish Mette Frederiksen, who also supports the suspension of Spain from Schengen. The approach of Emmanuel Macron is very different, expressing “solidarity” to Sanchez.

The external dimension is fundamental, insists the prime minister, reminding her interlocutors of the effectiveness of tools like the EU-Tunisia memorandum. At the same time, she clarifies, “Italy is ready to support any European initiative of support to the Spanish institutions necessary to restore full control of the Union’s external borders and to decisively address the ongoing situation.” At the top levels of government, they are waiting to understand how the Irish rotating presidency will now act at the EU level, which will convene a meeting of the integrated political crisis response mechanism in the coming hours, while Coreper will assess developments on Monday. In Rome, questions arise about how Madrid is repatriating migrants, and the main hypotheses of causes and contributing factors are analyzed, from the reaction to Sanchez’s visit to Algeria to the Morocco-Israel axis. Certainly, the executive reasons, it was a well-orchestrated operation. The fear that a sea route to Italy might open has led to the suspension of Schengen, ordered by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi (who also shared with his French counterpart the strengthening of controls at the border between the two countries). Three years ago, he did the same with Slovenia to stop migration on the Balkan route. Initially for 10 days, then for months and months.

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Now it starts with one month, coinciding with the first weekend of August, a peak period for departures. Third-country nationals coming from Spain will have their documents checked; the Interior Ministry assures that Spaniards and Europeans traveling to Italy will not face additional bureaucratic burdens. Nothing changes for those traveling from Italy to Spain. The measure, Meloni promises, “will be maintained only for the necessary time, with particular attention to limiting any impact on summer tourist flows.” Antonio Tajani explains that it was “a necessary choice.” Matteo Salvini claims, “the League’s line prevails.” “Finally Piantedosi woke up,” says the sarcasm of Futuro Nazionale. The opposition is decidedly critical. “This government,” attacks PD secretary Elly Schlein, “has abandoned Italy and Italians, no longer dealing with their daily problems but, now hostage to demagogy, has become Trump’s agent in Europe.”

According to M5S leader Giuseppe Conte, “the Vannacci psychosis pushes the Italian government to scavenger operations” and Meloni “forgets when in summer 2023 she begged von der Leyen to come to Lampedusa, with 6,000 landings in a single day.” Riccardo Magi (+Europa) accuses the executive of spreading fake news: “The suspension of Schengen makes no sense given the control regime that normally applies with Ceuta, which is in Africa and not in Europe.” The government, Avs accuses, “lies, feeds fear and looks for an enemy.”

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