Interior Commissioner Magnus Brunner sees “signs that Italy could soon lift controls” for travelers coming from Spain. He stated this in a message on X after speaking on Saturday with the Spanish Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi. The Austrian commissioner sees these signs in the statements of the Italian minister pointing out: “I hope, above all, that on the 15th, or even earlier, at any time, the problem will be resolved.”
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“I have been in contact with the Spanish and Italian ministers today. Both have confirmed to me that the border controls are temporary,” Commissioner Brunner wanted to highlight in his message, almost a day after Spain announced that it was going to reinstate border controls for travelers arriving from Italy by plane or boat (there is no other way given the absence of land borders). However, that confirmation is already implicit in the announcement both countries made when taking this step. Both pointed to a duration of the measure of one month, which, according to the Schengen area’s own regulations, could be extended for two more months.
I was in contact with both the Spanish and Italian Interior Ministers today. Both confirmed that the internal border controls are temporary. I stressed the progress we’ve made on tackling illegal migration and that trust between Member States is our most valuable currency.
— Magnus Brunner (@magnusbrunner) August 8, 2026
The clash between Spain and Italy began last week when, after the avalanche in Ceuta where tens of thousands of people entered Spanish territory illegally, Rome demanded that the suspension of Spain’s participation in the Schengen area be studied. Due to the lack of support for this proposal, Giorgia Meloni’s government decided to impose random controls on travelers arriving from Spain, despite there being no direct connection between Ceuta and Italy and both Spanish and EU authorities stating that none of those who crossed the border irregularly reached the Iberian Peninsula.
The Spanish response came this Friday — a week after Italy’s decision — when Pedro Sánchez’s government announced that in a few hours — that is, at midnight this Saturday — it would impose a reciprocal response: random controls at ports and airports on routes coming from Italy.
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In response to this escalation, it was this Saturday that Brunner contacted Grande-Marlaska and Piantedosi. In those conversations, the Austrian reportedly highlighted “the progress we have made in the fight against illegal migration and that trust between Member States is the most valuable currency.” But that trust between Spain and Italy is, evidently, broken.
When the commissioner says he “sees signs” that Rome will soon take the step to start de-escalation, he refers, according to sources close to him, to public statements like those made by Piantedosi on Friday in Sorrento: “I hope that, as soon as possible, the circumstances that led us to adopt that measure will disappear. I hope, above all, that on the 15th, or even earlier, at any time, the problem will be resolved — he adds —; I say this, first and foremost, for the benefit of Spain and Europe, and to clarify the situation.”
For EU Law professor Alberto Alemanno, “‘eye for an eye’ border controls between two Schengen States are childish and counterproductive.” “The real cost falls on ordinary European citizens and businesses, who now face difficulties crossing a border that, in theory, should never have existed,” points out this Italian expert.
Alemanno adds that “ironically [after the Ceuta avalanche], Spain might have stronger arguments.” “Italy faces a much higher volume of irregular arrivals than Spain, but neither Rome nor Madrid can prove that there is an imminent threat justifying temporary controls,” he laments.
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