Premier Giorgia Meloni and her Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen released a joint message on Monday saying the EU must combat "uncontrolled immigration" amid tension between Rome and Madrid over the suspension of Schengen arrangements between the two countries following the dramatic wave of migrants that arrived at the Spanish North African enclave of Ceura at the end of last month. "No one can deny the negative impacts of illegal immigration on our societies: increased crime rates, increasing pressure on public services and erosion of citizens' trust," Meloni and Frederiksen said. "It is particularly serious when illegal immigrants, deprived of the right to remain in our nations, commit violent crimes, deal drugs or become responsible for sexual violence. "Understandably, European citizens expect concrete actions from their own political representatives. "For too long, ordinary people especially have paid too high a price because of uncontrolled immigration. "It is our duty to continue to work resolutely to offer concrete answers to citizens, especially those most exposed, and to ensure greater safety and protection for our communities. "Together we have managed to change the balance in the application of the European Convention on Human Rights with regard to foreign citizens who commit serious crimes. "Consequently, deportations now should be increased. "And what more can we do now? Repatriation centres must be created in third countries, as well as other innovative solutions outside Europe. We are working hard on this. "But this isn't enough. Respect for our laws must go hand in hand with respect for European values. "This is true for illegal immigrants, but also for the millions of foreign citizens who live legally in our nations and throughout Europe. "We are both proud of the Christian cultural heritage of Europe and we want to protect it. "We expect that those who come to our countries and choose to make Europe their home, respect our values and do not try to impose models of life that we do not share. "We believe that this is the right way to protect Europe and our common values. And we believe that millions of Europeans share this belief". Spain started doing random border checks on arrivals from Italy at the weekend after Meloni's government refused to comply with a deadline to end the selective checks on third-country nationals coming here via air or sea imposed following the Ceuta crisis. Madrid and Italy's opposition parties blasted Rome's suspension of Schengen arrangements with Spain as propaganda, given that entry to the enclave does not automatically give access to the Schengen area and that Italy does not border Spain. Most of the migrants who reached the enclave, many swimming around the border, have left. Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said Italy will maintain its checks at least until August 15, given intelligence reports of a possible new 'blitz' on Ceuta, arguing "the risk of terrorism cannot be underestimated".