Spain threatened Italy with countermeasures Friday if it does not swiftly lift border checks introduced after the mass migrant rush to Ceuta – drawing a rebuff from Rome.
The rare spat between the European Union and NATO allies came after tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco to Spain’s North African territory last week in an unprecedented and deadly rush.
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The scenes infuriated other EU members that back a hard line on irregular immigration, including Italy which imposed a one-month suspension of its 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.”
