Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez summoned the Italian ambassador in Madrid, Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi, after comments by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who expressed support for closing the Schengen area to Spain due to the situation in Ceuta, the Spanish news agency EFE reported, quoted by BTA.
„This message is unworthy of a foreign minister of a partner and friendly country from which we expect European solidarity, not partisan demagogy“, said Álvarez in an article in Aix, in response to Tajani's comments.
Tajani linked the events in Ceuta to the ongoing process of regularizing migrants in Spain.
„I am "For" the closure of the Schengen area for Spain and I have full confidence in the actions of Minister (Interior Minister Matteo) Piantedozzi. Illegal and uncontrolled immigration poses a threat to national security“, Tajani wrote in Ex.
“The footage coming from Ceuta shows how the decision of the government in Madrid to grant Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship to over 500,000 illegal immigrants is deeply wrong and encourages human trafficking“, he added.
The Italian foreign minister's comments followed a publication in Ex by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in which she expressed concern about what was happening in Ceuta and called for “extraordinary measures, including the closure of the Schengen area to Spain“.
Albarez stressed that the events in Ceuta were linked to a Supreme Court ruling that those who reach Ceuta and Melilla cannot be immediately returned and have nothing to do with the regularization process.
For these reasons he announced that he was summoning the Italian ambassador to tell him that he rejected Tajani's statements.
Government sources reiterated this point and argued that it was false that anyone who had crossed the border of Ceuta in recent days could be eligible for this process, as it requires very specific criteria, such as proving residence in Spain before 1 January 2026 and having been in the country for five consecutive months at the time of the application.
They reiterated that this crisis stems from an interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling that has been used by mafia organizations taking advantage of the extremely vulnerable situation of migrants.
They also stated that this is not the first migration crisis in Europe and it will not be the last. The Spanish government stressed that it must be governed in accordance with Spanish, European and international law, as well as human rights.
Madrid also stated that it values European solidarity and rejects demagogic and partisan exploitation of situations such as the one currently unfolding in Ceuta.