The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has criticized Italy this Friday for its "lack of solidarity" in the face of the crisis generated by the massive influx of immigrants in Ceuta, and has pointed out that the Government of that country has acted with a partisan approach to gain political benefit.
During his speech before the Foreign Affairs Commission of Congress, Albares emphasized that the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, chose to impose controls on travelers coming from Spain just after the episode of massive entries in the autonomous city.
The head of Foreign Affairs has described that decision as "arbitrary" and has insisted that it constituted an "unjustified and unjustifiable grievance" because the Italian Executive is fully aware that, "due to the double filter system that operates in Ceuta and Melilla, the Schengen area is fully guaranteed."
In this sense, he has again denounced the "lack of solidarity" from Rome in the face of the situation experienced in Ceuta, contrasting it with Spain's attitude when Italy has faced significant migration crises and in other contexts, such as the war in Ukraine, which has led to the arrival of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
Spain supported Italy in the Lampedusa crisis
"In 2023, when thousands of irregular migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa, Spain, which was also holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union at that time, supported Italy," he recalled. "We did not consider it then an Italian problem, but a crisis situation in the EU, defending a common stance based on solidarity," he emphasized.
Albares has attributed the reaction of Meloni's Executive to "reasons of internal Italian electoral politics," to "demagoguery," and to "trying to gain partisan advantage with such a serious issue," something that, he stressed, "is not responsible, but also not politically profitable."
The minister has also mentioned the "lack of solidarity" from Denmark, in contrast to Spain's position, which has "firmly" defended its territorial integrity and sovereignty in the face of U.S. claims over Greenland, and has reiterated that this solidarity is an essential pillar within the EU. "Europe is solidarity and without solidarity there is no Europe, that is what Italy and Denmark must understand," he concluded.
Call to PP and Vox to pressure Meloni
Albares has urged Vox and the PP to address Giorgia Meloni and the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, to convey to them that the decision to establish controls on Spanish travelers is "outrageous," considering that the head of the Italian Government is an ally of Santiago Abascal, with whom she also maintains a friendship, and that the 'popular' party has a good rapport with Tajani.
Likewise, he has demanded that the PP take advantage of that dialogue to ask the head of Italian diplomacy when Italy will stop "obstructing" the recognition of Catalan, Basque, and Galician as official languages of the EU.