Spain's government on Friday threatened to impose reciprocal entry checks on travelers from Italy, unless Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's governemnt lifts the measures it has implemented by Sunday.
Italy's right-wing government announced the checks at the height of the social media panic as tens of thousands of people gained entry to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta bordering Morocco last week.
The checks are essentially symbolic, given that Ceuta is not on the European mainland and Italy and Spain do not share a land border, meaning that the vast majority of people potentially affected are tourists on planes.
Nevertheless, the issue has turned into a point of dispute between two governments of different ideological persuasions with contrasting messaging priorities on migration policy.
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