Spain on Friday threatened Italy with countermeasures if Rome did not lift this week its one-month suspension of the free-travel Schengen agreement, introduced after the mass migrant rush to Ceuta.
The rare spat between the EU and Nato allies came after tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco to the Spanish north African territory last week in an unprecedented and deadly rush.
The scenes infuriated other European Union members that back a hard line on irregular immigration and the protection of the bloc's external borders, including far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The Spanish government again hit out at Italy on Friday for a measure it described as "unfair, contrary to the EU's interests and discriminatory for the Spanish population".
"We urge the government of Italy to rectify, put an end to the checks and treat Spaniards like other European citizens," the government said in a statement.
