Symbolic imageSpain checks arrivals from Italy as Ceuta braces for new crossing
Spain began checks on air and sea arrivals from Italy at midnight on Saturday, answering Rome's suspension of Schengen free travel over the Ceuta crossings.
The Spanish controls run for one month and answer Italian measures that Rome says should stop migrants from Ceuta travelling on, though the countries share no land border. Madrid calls that reasoning fabricated: people who swam to Ceuta cannot reach the Schengen area through Spanish territory. Spain demanded on Friday that Italy lift its checks by Sunday; Rome replied they stay at least until 15 August, citing an expected new wave of arrivals. The dispute sets Spain's socialist government against Italy's conservative government, which has long demanded stricter EU migration rules.
Emergency continues in Ceuta
A week after more than 70,000 people swam over from Morocco on Thursday, 30 July (Koha says about 78,000), up to 6,000 are still in the city, FAZ reports; the regional government counts over 1,100 unaccompanied minors for 29 regular places.
Blame shifts to the platforms
FAZ traces the surge to social media: a Supreme Court ruling against immediate pushbacks became a claimed right to asylum on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and 'Ceuta is open' spread on TikTok. Handelsblatt reports an EU commissioner blames tech giants in part.
Other opinions
The Wall Street Journal frames the row as the EU's internal borders hardening; in Spain, residents and the left-wing Izquierda Unida blame Morocco, the US and Israel, which FAZ calls an unproven conspiracy theory.