Spain announced on Friday it would introduce temporary border checks on travellers from Italy in response to Rome imposing similar measures after a mass migrant rush into Ceuta. The checks, which come "amid the persistent irregular migration pressure" facing Italy, will start at midnight on Saturday and last until September 7, Spain's interior ministry said in a statement. Hours earlier, Spain threatened Italy with countermeasures if it did not swiftly lift its own border checks, drawing a rebuff from Rome. The rare spat between the European Union and NATO allies came after tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco to Spain's North African territory on July 30-31 in an unprecedented, deadly rush. The scenes infuriated EU members that back a hard line on irregular immigration, including Italy which imposed a one-month suspension of its visa-free travel Schengen deal with Spain. The Spanish government slammed the measure Friday as "unfair, contrary to the EU's interests and discriminatory for the Spanish population".
Ceuta has 're-exposed immigration's divisive nature' in the EU
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