Spain warns Italy of reciprocal measures if border controls continue

MADRID, Spain — Spain's government said it will impose measures on travelers from Italy if Rome does not lift border checks on Spanish citizens by Sunday. Spain's ministerial order described Italy's restrictions as "unjust, contrary to the interests of the European Union and discriminatory toward Spanish citizens." It added that none of the migrants who reached Ceuta last week through irregular routes had been able to enter the Schengen zone freely. Italy introduced the controls after a surge of migration toward the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta last week. Morocco's Interior Ministry said roughly 40,000 people attempted to cross into Ceuta illegally on Sunday, according to the Spanish statement. Ceuta governor Juan Jesús Vivas told a European Parliament meeting on Tuesday that the number of deaths among migrants crossing the border had risen. He said about 100 people died during last week's surge and that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants remained in Ceuta. The dispute between Spain and Italy comes as EU member states continue to grapple with managing migration flows at the bloc's external borders. No further details on Spain's planned reciprocal measures were immediately available.