Spain imposes border checks on Italy as migrant showdown grows

On 8 August 2026, Spain began border checks on travellers arriving from Italy. Le Monde describes the checks as a response to similar measures taken by Rome. The dispute is tied to the Ceuta migrant crisis, and Sánchez and Meloni raised the tone against each other. On the Italian side, the line attributed to Meloni is that freezing Schengen in such cases is not an exception.