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record as US signals Hormuz deal is closeOil majors post windfall profits as Iran war lifts pricesUS drafts ban on Chinese datacentre componentsTaiwan opens war games with first blockade scenarioChina's weather agency forecasts Super El NinoAnthropic signs $10bn computing deal with cloud startupOfficials suspect Iran behind attacks on US water utilitiesRussian envoy rules out evacuation after Cuban blackoutsMan arrested over largest Spokane wildfireRussian insurers drop war cover after Black Sea ship attacksFloods and landslides kill at least 21 in India and Sri LankaSpaceX revenue jumps 92% in first results since listingGaza families bury 112 recovered from 2023 strike rubbleLebanon and Israel resume direct talks in Rome25 states sue Trump administration over new tariffsSlowing growth weighs on Beijing's strong-yuan ambitionsEU seeks to drop Palantir as NATO confirms its useFinland licenses world's first deep store for spent nuclear fuelKashmir protests challenge Islamabad's 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Symbolic image: Italy suspends free movement from Spain as EU ministers back MadridSymbolic image

Italy suspends free movement from Spain as EU ministers back Madrid

7 sources

Italy has suspended Schengen free movement at its border with Spain over last week's mass crossing into Ceuta. At an emergency videoconference on Tuesday, EU interior ministers closed ranks behind Madrid instead.

What happened

  • Tens of thousands crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on Thursday, 30 July, swimming or walking around the breakwater.
  • Spain's interior minister counted 72,000 arrivals and 70,000 returns; The National reports 3,000 to 5,000 still in the enclave.
  • Death tolls differ: Madrid says at least 72, Rabat 11, The National reports 75 dead during the crossing.
  • Ceuta lies outside the Schengen area, and no migrants reached mainland Spain, according to Brussels and Madrid.
  • Rome requested Tuesday's emergency videoconference; ministers put new EU migration measures off to the autumn.

The view from outside

TASS reports Italy's minister used the meeting to push migrant centres in third countries, naming Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana, Tunisia, Libya, Uzbekistan and Armenia. Daily Sabah contrasts Europe's border-security framing with Türkiye's refugee record.

What could happen next

  • The cause of the surge is unresolved: Spain and Morocco blame social media manipulation, and Europol is helping Spanish authorities investigate.
  • Italy set no end date for its border checks; Brussels says Spain must keep the remaining migrants out of the EU.
  • Madrid says those with no right to stay will be expelled under Spanish and international law.
How the camps see it

  • Spain: Madrid says it acted immediately with Morocco, that Schengen was never at risk, and summoned Italy's ambassador while criticising Rome's own handling of Lampedusa.

  • Italy and Denmark: Rome calls the suspension a preventive national-security step, not a verdict on Spain; with Copenhagen it rallied 22 states behind a letter calling Spanish policy a pull factor.

  • Morocco: Rabat took the returnees back, reported a lower death toll than Madrid and, like Spain, blames social media manipulation for the surge.

Also involved

European CommissionGermany

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