The sensational reports and vignettes out of Ceuta, the tiny Spanish enclave on the coast of North Africa, are starting to simmer down now, 10 days after the Moroccan-led (along with God knows who else) stampede of bodies across their ill-defended borders. At one time, the count was as high as 72,000 invaders poured into the city of 86,000, overwhelming their minuscule cadre of border guards and tiny municipal police force. Besides sparking a humanitarian crisis, not to mention panic across Europe at the thought of so many unwelcome visitors making their way into Europe through arriving first on the Spanish mainland and spreading throughout the continent via the Schengen Zone.
The first European leader to shut her border regardless of European Union agreements was Giorgia Meloni of Italy. The feisty Italian Prime Minister wasted no time slamming her doors to any incoming, foot-weary travelers via the Spanish Main, which incredibly incensed the socialist running Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
He pulled a Thunberg.
HOW DARE YOU?!
So much for his bluster. On August 1, Meloni shut Italy down to Spanish arrivals.
Italy cracks down on free movement to Spain as Schengen unity crumbles
Italy’s right-wing government said on Friday it was ending open air and sea transport with Spain in reaction to the sudden influx of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa.
Rome’s move was a signal of wide concerns across Europe — particularly in the 29-country Schengen passport-free travel zone — that Madrid was not doing enough to control the surge of migrants. France also introduced additional border controls.
“The temporary suspension of Schengen with Spain is a necessary choice to safeguard the security of our citizens and defend European borders. A measure provided for by the treaties and made unavoidable today,” Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote on X.
Stopping the regular conditions of travel under Schengen is a major step, and Spain will have grounds to contest whether such a measure of last resort is justified.
Spain might have had grounds to pitch a fit, but what happened next was, shall we say, 'unexpected.' Other EU members lined up to join Meloni's security tightening.
Giorgia Meloni threw a grenade into the EU.😏
— Desiree (@DesireeAmerica4) July 31, 2026
After threatening to shut borders with. Pedro Sánchez of Spain over the Ceuta migrant surge, Madrid tried to call it demagoguery.
Now Finland, Austria, and France are backing Meloni, saying open-border privileges mean nothing if… pic.twitter.com/79YsvD7Pof
...saying open-border privileges mean nothing if you can’t secure the perimeter.
She forced Europe’s hand, and the dominoes are falling
Finland, Austria, Sweden, and France all voiced support for Meloni's strict measures in some fashion.
...Earlier on Friday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced he had ordered increased controls at the border with Spain.
In a post on X, Nuñez wrote that local police and military units would be mobilized for the checks, and he commented in an interview with radio station RTL that he was in contact with Spanish authorities. “We have a mobile unit that is on duty around the clock,” he said.
...Austria’s Integration Minister Claudia Bauer told POLITICO her government backed Meloni, and she accused Spain of “effectively handing out entry tickets to the European Union” by granting legal status to unauthorized migrants, calling the scheme a “disastrous decision.”
...Meanwhile, Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party echoed Meloni, saying Schengen with Spain should be suspended if necessary.
Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen, a member of the right-wing Finns Party, backed the Italian leader on X, accusing Spain of failing to “protect the Schengen Area’s external border from infiltration,” adding that “all European countries must support Meloni’s proposal.”
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson mirrored those comments, saying his migration minister was “in contact with his Nordic counterparts and does not rule out taking the measures required to ensure that 2015 does not happen again,” referring to another migration crisis when more than 1 million refugees and migrants traveled to Europe, fleeing wars in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Sanchez has spent the better part of the week making outraged noises at Meloni whilst twisting in the wind and insisting the bulk of the migrants have 'repatriated/gone home' (according to people who live in Ceuta, that is a flight of socialist fancy). Sanchez had settled on demanding Meloni undo her border restrictions against his countrymen, figuring bluster and the temperature over the Ceuta situation dialing back a bit would have Meloni in a more tractable state of mind. Plus, it's tourist season and the Spanish Prime Minister was catching hell from Spanish citizens whose Italian vacations were now totally ruined because of his penchant for importing illegal North Africans.
Three days ago, Sanchez laid what he thought was the law down to Meloni - fully implement the Schengen agreement by 9 August or else.
🇪🇸🇮🇹 | Sánchez amenaza a Meloni: o el Gobierno italiano pone fin a los controles a españoles en la frontera antes del domingo, o se adoptarán «medidas proporcionales» en la entrada a España. pic.twitter.com/XJdsBTCn5h
— ʜᴇʀQʟᴇs (@herqles_es) August 7, 2026
Sánchez threatens Meloni: either the Italian Government puts an end to the checks on Spaniards at the border before Sunday, or "proportional measures" will be adopted at the entrance to Spain.
Meloni to Sanchez: SUCK A STONE, PEDRO
...The Meloni government responded to Spain's request to lift, from Rome, the temporary suspension of the Schengen Agreement between the two countries.
"Italy does not accept impositions from abroad or ultimatums regarding national security and border control," the relevant statement emphasizes.
"We have no intention whatsoever of reviewing the decision to temporarily suspend the application of the Schengen Agreement for citizens of third countries coming from Spain, at least until August 15 and until risks of a terrorist nature and security are ruled out, in any case, for Italy...
The frustrated Spanish prime minister did about the only thing he could do in retaliation. As of Saturday, he cut off all free access to Spain for Italians.
TIT FOR TAT...SORT OF
Sánchez-Meloni clash brings back borders — and headaches for tourists
Tourists traveling between Spain and Italy are caught in the middle of an escalating ideological feud over European border security involving Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Madrid on Saturday restored border controls on ships and flights arriving in Spain from Italian ports and airports, suspending passport-free travel between the two countries. Spain said the move was necessary to protect its citizens from “the persistent irregular migration pressure suffered by the transalpine country.”
The move was an unmistakable retaliation for the checks that Italy has imposed on travelers arriving from Spain since Aug. 1. Rome enacted those measures in response to the mass arrival of people in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, citing fears that the unauthorized migrants could cross the Strait of Gibraltar and take advantage of the passport-free Schengen area to travel onward to Italy and elsewhere in the EU.
Madrid has pushed back forcefully against that narrative, and noted that the migrants could not leave the North African territory because they lack valid IDs required to travel on ferries to mainland Europe.
For all that Sanchez has 'forcefully pushed back' against accusations and fears that any members of Ceuta hordes could make their way across the waters to Spain and beyond, his credibility is pretty well shot. No one believes him, not for a second.
Which is why, for all his grandstanding today, Meloni's partnerships with like-minded EU leaders are only growing stronger instead of collapsing under the weight of EU opprobrium for bucking the hive mentality.
The Danish prime minister joined forces with her Italian counterpart today, demanding the European Commission do something about the borders. Their letter was co-signed by 20 other European 'heads of state and government.'
Right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and center-left Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday reiterated their push to combat illegal migration after thousands of unauthorized migrants surged into Spanish exclave Ceuta in late July.
“We are aware that many might be wondering about our cooperation. We come from very different political backgrounds, and we certainly do not agree on everything,” Meloni posted in a “joint message” on Facebook, sharing an archival photo of herself and Frederiksen.
“We do not accept uncontrolled immigration to Europe, and we have promoted a strict immigration policy, both in our Nations and in Europe,” the statement continued.
In response to the Ceuta crisis, which reignited Europe’s long-running debate on illegal migration, Denmark and Italy had sent a joint letter to the European Commission demanding immediate action at the EU’s external borders. The letter was co-signed by 20 other European heads of state and government.
Left and right just closed ranks against mass migration.
— The European Conservative (@EuroConOfficial) August 10, 2026
Italy’s Meloni and Denmark’s Frederiksen — opposite sides of the aisle — just issued a joint message:
“We do not accept uncontrolled immigration to Europe.”
And: Europe’s Christian cultural heritage will be protected.
The…
...The old left-right split on migration is collapsing.
Things are not looking good for Porecito Pedro.
The president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, is backing Meloni.
Ayuso se pone de parte de Meloni y Trump en la crisis Schengen: "El desprestigio internacional de España va a seguir creciendo porque Pedro Sánchez es incapaz de defender nuestras fronteras" https://t.co/yLG8j4xtwR
— EL PAÍS (@el_pais) August 10, 2026
Ayuso sides with Meloni and Trump in the Schengen crisis: "Spain's international disrepute will continue to grow because Pedro Sánchez is incapable of defending our borders"
Pedro's a putz in the middle of a pile-on.
Schengen, 15 irregolari provenienti dalla Spagna respinti negli aeroporti italiani: i fatti danno ragione al governo https://t.co/ArlElkRy72
— Secolo d'Italia (@SecolodItalia1) August 7, 2026
Schengen, 15 irregular migrants from Spain turned back at Italian airports: the facts prove the government right
And better safe than even more sorry.
Besides, I don't see where there's any arguing with the two female prime ministers at this point.
...“For too long, ordinary people … have paid too high a price because of uncontrolled immigration,” they said.
“We are both proud of Europe’s Christian cultural heritage and want to protect it. We expect those who come to our countries and choose to make Europe their home to respect our values and not seek to impose ways of life on us that we do not share,” they said.
Pedro Sanchez definitely isn't their type of guy.
So who needs him?
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