BY REUTERS

MADRID — Spain started border checks on travelers arriving from Italy, responding to similar measures Rome imposed following a massive migrant rush into the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta.

Italians arriving at Barcelona airport were subject to random police checks after the controls were put into effect overnight, according to Spain’s state news agency EFE.

Spain’s Interior Ministry said the new checks on travelers from Italy would apply until Sept 7.

Spain announced Friday it would proceed with the heightened controls, citing what it said was “persistent irregular migration pressure” facing Italy.

The Spanish government had said it would take “proportionate measures to protect the interests and dignity of its citizens” if Italy did not lift its own restrictions before Sunday.

Italy began enforcing air and sea border controls on Spanish citizens from Aug 1, suspending Schengen free movement rules with Spain.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has criticized the migration policies of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Meloni’s office said Friday that Italian authorities “have no intention” of lifting border checks on people arriving from Spain by sea or air until at least Aug 15.

“Italy does not accept ultimatums or impositions from abroad about national security and border control,” the statement said.

It said that, should there be a repeat of migrant arrivals in Ceuta, Italy would review its decision to impose the checks “only when we are certain that there will be no security or terrorist risks for Italy, that there will be no new wave, and that there are no irregular migrants heading toward European territory”.

The latest measures followed the sudden arrival of more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco at Ceuta on July 30 and 31. Almost all returned to Morocco within 48 hours, although more than 80 migrants died, including some who drowned or were trampled in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities.

The inflow alarmed European nations and reignited the immigration debate within the EU. Twenty-two of the bloc’s 27 countries backed a joint call for firmer action against illegal immigration.

EU migration chief Magnus Brunner said Saturday that he had been in contact with the Spanish and Italian interior ministers and that “both confirmed that the internal border controls are temporary”.

“I stressed the progress we’ve made on tackling illegal migration and that trust between member states is our most valuable currency,” Brunner posted on X.

He said Spanish authorities had provided assurances that the Ceuta events “will have no lasting effect on the Schengen Area”, adding that “there are signals from Italy that controls could be lifted soon”.

According to the EU, member states are allowed to temporarily reintroduce controls at the EU’s so-called internal borders in case of a serious threat, such as one to internal security. But it also says border controls should be applied as a last resort in exceptional situations, and must be time-limited.