Italian foreign minister defends migration policy, Schengen suspension after Ceuta crisis

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Monday defended Italy's migration policy and its decision to suspend Schengen-related arrangements with Spain following the migration crisis in Ceuta.

"I do not respond to the Spanish foreign minister; the numbers do," Tajani said on US social media company X.

Tajani said irregular migrant arrivals in Italy have fallen by 60% annually since 2023 and that landings between January and July 2026 were down 80% compared with the same period in 2023.

He also said 15,323 irregular migrants arrived by sea as of July 15, 2026, representing a 54% decrease compared with 2025 and a 50% decline compared with 2024.

According to Tajani, the figures were the result of "hard work" and bilateral agreements with eight countries of origin and transit aimed at promoting regular migration and combating human trafficking.

He also said the EU's new Pact on Asylum and Migration bore "a strong Italian imprint," adding that it was "in line with the teachings of Silvio Berlusconi and the governments he led."

Referring to the situation in Ceuta, Tajani said more than 5,000 migrants who had arrived in the Spanish enclave were from sub-Saharan Africa and "cannot be repatriated or sent back to Morocco."

"What will become of them? Where will they go?" he asked.

Tajani also defended Italy's decision to suspend Schengen-related arrangements with Spain, saying it was "in line with the Treaties" and "the right one."