Spain-Italy Border Checks: EU Calls It 'Temporary' in Migrant Spat

The European Union has downplayed the new border checks between Spain and Italy, calling them a short-term measure that will not harm the Schengen free-travel zone. Spain has started checking travellers arriving from Italy. This is a direct response to similar controls that Rome put in place earlier. Italy acted after a sharp rise in migrants reaching Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta. Madrid says it sent most of those migrants back quickly. Spanish officials also accuse Italy of allowing “persistent irregular migration” through its borders. The EU insists the restrictions are temporary. Brussels says the dispute will not have a lasting effect on the Schengen area, which normally allows passport-free movement across most of Europe.