Spain and Italy are locked in a dispute over migration following recent developments in Ceuta.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public broadcaster RTVE that many countries and governments had not risen to the occasion, and that the Italian government was one of them. He said there had been periods when Italy was overwhelmed by irregular migrants, pointing to repeated crises on the island of Lampedusa that the country was unable to handle effectively. Albares said Spain had always shown solidarity, politically and through concrete actions, and that this was what Spain demanded from its European partners.
Italy's Response
Sources at Italy's interior ministry in Rome said arrivals of irregular migrants had fallen sharply since January thanks to the policies of the Meloni government, down 55 percent compared with last year and 82 percent compared with 2023. On the alleged Lampedusa invasion, the same sources said only 98 migrants were currently on the island and there was no state of emergency, according to the Italian press.
