The European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, has indicated that Spain and Italy have conveyed signals to him that the episode of tension opened by the reciprocal reintroduction of controls at the internal border is heading towards its end. He stated this after the conversations held with the interior ministers of both countries, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Matteo Piantedosi.
"Both confirmed to me that the controls at the internal borders are temporary," the commissioner explained in a message published this afternoon on social media after his new conversations with both ministers, to whom he reiterated, on behalf of the EU, that "trust among member states is our most valuable currency."
According to Brunner, Spain has conveyed guarantees to him that "the events in Ceuta will not have a lasting effect on the Schengen area" and, consequently, he pointed out that "there are signals from Italy that the controls could be lifted soon."
It is worth remembering that Spain communicated this Saturday to different instances of the European Union (EU) the decision of the Executive to reintroduce border controls at airports and ports with direct links between the Kingdom of Spain and the Italian Republic. This notice came just a few hours after the Spanish Government issued an ultimatum to Rome to remove its own controls, established after the Ceuta crisis.