Ceuta: 78,000 migrants and the diplomatic crisis between Spain and Italy

The Mediterranean migration crisis escalated into a clash between two European governments. Spain imposed border controls on Italy and the tension between Pedro Sánchez and Giorgia Meloni sharpened over the massive arrival of about 78,000 migrants at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, from neighboring Morocco.

The escalation

Italy introduced border controls after the massive arrival of migrants to Ceuta, and Spain responded with a reciprocal measure. The exchange of restrictions between two European Union countries highlights the fragility of the bloc’s common migration policy.

The background

The crisis in the Ceuta enclave — the EU’s land border in Africa — shows the migratory pressure Spain faces from Morocco and Meloni’s strategy of tightening Italian borders, in a dispute that transcends the migration phenomenon and touches the domestic politics of both countries.

The key figure

78,000 migrants. The magnitude of the arrival that broke the relationship between Madrid and Rome.