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BRUSSELS — Italy’s Giorgia Meloni clashed with Spain’s Pedro Sánchez over Madrid’s decision to legalize around 500,000 asylum-seekers, according to three EU diplomats and one EU official.
Meloni challenged Sánchez during a closed-door meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, saying she wanted a debate on migration so leaders could discuss the consequences of Spain’s move on other EU countries, according to diplomats briefed on the discussion.
Sánchez responded that other leaders should not be concerned because the migrants regularized in Spain were largely from South America rather than Africa, two of the diplomats said. They were granted anonymity to discuss the confidential talks.
Spain’s position on migration is “well known,” a Spanish government spokesperson said, confirming Sánchez had defended it during the summit discussion. Madrid is “more than happy” to engage in a debate on migration, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not address the Africa comment.
