Aysu Bicer
31 July 2026•Update: 31 July 2026
Spain on Thursday summoned Italy's ambassador to Madrid after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen free-movement zone, amid a diplomatic dispute over a surge in migrant arrivals in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares condemned Tajani's remarks and announced that Italy's ambassador had been summoned.
"This message is unbecoming of the Foreign Minister of a partner and friendly country from which we expect European solidarity and not partisan demagoguery. Today's events are related to a court ruling, having nothing to do with what the tweet says. I have summoned the Italian Ambassador tomorrow," he said on the US social media company X.
Earlier on Thursday, Tajani said he supported suspending Spain's participation in the Schengen area, linking the move to the migration crisis in Ceuta.
"I am in favor of closing the Schengen Area to Spain," Antonio Tajani wrote on X, arguing that "irregular and uncontrolled immigration poses a danger to national security."
"The images coming from Ceuta show how the Madrid Government's decision to grant Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship to over 500,000 irregular immigrants is profoundly wrong and encourages human trafficking," he added.
Thousands of young Moroccans gathered Thursday near the border separating the Moroccan city of Castillejos from Ceuta in an apparent coordinated attempt to enter the Spanish territory, Spain's EFE news agency reported.
It said hundreds climbed over border fences while others headed toward the breakwater and entered the sea in an effort to reach Ceuta.
EFE reported that Moroccan security forces established cordons in some areas and detained several people, although many groups continued advancing toward the border.
The news agency said the mass movement coincided with celebrations marking the 27th anniversary of the enthronement of King Mohammed VI, while Moroccan authorities said they did not know what had triggered the large-scale gathering at the border.
The Spanish government also announced that the armed forces would be deployed to assist the Civil Guard in maintaining security across the city.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska will travel to Ceuta on Friday to assess the situation firsthand.
