The Spanish Foreign Minister attacks Italy: “Flooded with migrants”. The Interior Ministry: “Landings have plummeted under Meloni”

Exchange of views between Spain and Italy on immigration. The migration crisis in Ceuta must be addressed as a European issue; it requires greater solidarity amongst Member States, and “there have been some governments that have not risen to the challenge”, including Italy, said the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, in an interview with TVE on the eve of the meeting of EU interior ministers on the Ceuta crisis. According to the minister, in addition to governments, certain politicians and parties in Spain have also taken what he described as “irresponsible” positions: “The Italian government was one of them.” Italy was the first country to call for Spain’s suspension from the Schengen Area on 31 July, following the arrival of around 60,000 migrants in the Spanish exclave. 

Responding to criticism from Rome regarding the handling of the migration crisis in Ceuta, Albares emphasised that Italy has at other times been “absolutely inundated with irregular migrants”, with “recurring crises” on the island of Lampedusa that “it is unable to resolve”. “Italy would like to resolve the situation in Lampedusa” in the same way as the one in Ceuta was resolved, he concluded. Meanwhile, Spain “has always shown solidarity, both politically and in practice,” he argued. “This is what we demand from our European partners. “This is a moment when I demand and call for unity from all political forces around two Spanish cities, Ceuta and Melilla, and unity from all Europeans around two European cities,” he stated, convinced of the “specific nature” of the border of both autonomous cities. “It is the European Union’s only external land border with Africa. We cannot treat that border in the same way as we treat any other border town in Europe,” argued the Spanish foreign minister, insisting that this should also be recognised by Brussels, ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of interior ministers. “We must strengthen these mechanisms and remind all EU Member States that without solidarity, there is no Europe.”

Shortly afterwards, the Italian government issued a response. “In Italy, from January this year to the present day, there has been a sharp fall in the number of irregular migrant arrivals, achieved precisely thanks to the policies of the Meloni government,” sources at the Ministry of the Interior reported. “This represents a 55 per cent drop compared with last year and around 82 per cent compared with 2023 – the first year of our government’s term – when we had to deal with a situation inherited from previous governments that was completely out of control,” the same sources emphasised. As for the alleged ‘invasion’ of Lampedusa, there are currently 98 migrants on the island and there has not been an emergency situation there for some time.”

Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani also spoke. “It is not I who respond to the Spanish Foreign Minister, but the figures. Since 2023, the number of irregular migrants in Italy has fallen by 60 per cent year-on-year. From January to July 2026, landings fell by 80 per cent compared with the same period in 2023. Irregular arrivals by sea as at 15 July 2026 stood at 15,323, down 54 per cent compared with 2025 and down 50 per cent compared with 2024. “These figures are the result of hard work and bilateral agreements with eight countries of origin and transit, which today promote regular and safe migration flows and combat human trafficking,” the Foreign Minister wrote on social media. “And indeed, the new EU Pact on Asylum and Migration,” he continued, “bears a distinct Italian stamp, following in the footsteps of Silvio Berlusconi and the governments he led. I would, however, emphasise that among the migrants who have arrived in Ceuta, there are over 5,000 from the sub-Saharan region, who cannot be repatriated or sent back to Morocco. What will become of them? Where will they go? The decision to suspend the Schengen Agreement, supported by 21 European countries, is in line with the Treaties and is the right one.”

Members of the ruling coalition spoke with one voice in support of Palazzo Chigi. “The sharp fall in irregular arrivals, as confirmed by data from the Ministry of the Interior, confirms the effectiveness of the Meloni government’s policies,” said Fratelli d’Italia Senator Susanna Donatella Campione. She argued that the ministry’s figures show that “the crackdown on illegal immigration, border controls and the fight against traffickers are yielding tangible results”. According to Galeazzo Bignami, FdI’s group leader in the Chamber of Deputies, “the Spanish Foreign Minister’s remarks are entirely unfounded and inaccurate when he speaks of Italy’s lack of preparedness, demonstrating his lack of clarity and great difficulty”. Simonetta Matone, a Lega MP, shares this view: “I would advise Spanish Minister Albares, who attacks Italy by saying it cannot manage the migration phenomenon – whilst the Sánchez government is supposedly the best – that his words are not those of a politician but of a petty provocateur,” she said. "To repel the 'invasion' of citizens from Morocco, Spain has deployed the army and placed rubber barriers in the sea to deter those attempting to swim ashore. So everyone’s a hero then. This, however, is their idea of humanity; these are their pointless ‘little lessons’.” A statement from the Carroccio branded the actions of the Sánchez government and the Spanish and European Socialists as “mad attacks against Italy. Those pointing the finger at our country today are the very same government that has made itself complicit in mass immigration which is causing enormous damage to Spain and the entire continent. We hope – the Lega’s statement continues – that this problem will soon be resolved democratically through the vote of the Spanish people: our friend Santiago Abascal and our friends in Vox, the Lega’s allies in Europe, will put an end to this deliberate and organised mass immigration.”