# Border checks between Italy and Spain end on Thursday

> Italy and Spain have jointly ended the border controls they imposed on each other after the migrant crisis at Ceuta. The authorities say they have improved how they share security information.

Migration · published 2026-10-23 08:09 · https://nlnow.nl/a/italy-and-spain-lift-border-controls-imposed-over-ceuta/

Italy and Spain are lifting the border controls on each other, introduced after the migrant crisis around Ceuta. The controls end on Thursday. According to Italy, the joint decision follows "a careful assessment of the situation".

The interior ministers of both countries decided this after a phone call. After consulting Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, they decided not to extend the measures.

Italy introduced the measures first. The country wanted to prevent migrants who had arrived in Ceuta from travelling on to Italy. According to the authorities this was necessary because of "the risks to internal security". Spain then responded with similar border controls.

The authorities say arrangements for exchanging information on the security of the Schengen area have been "improved".

## Background

- **Schengen area**: The Schengen area is a group of European countries that have removed systematic passport and border checks between their shared borders, so people can travel between them without border controls. The member states apply common rules for controlling their external borders and for issuing short-stay visas. The Netherlands is a full part of the area, so a decision to reintroduce temporary checks at a border with another Schengen country is an exception that has to be notified and justified.

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