Phoenix 24
Giorgia Meloni’s coalition is defending tighter border controls and resisting asylum transfers, opening simultaneous disputes with two of the European Union’s most influential governments.
ROME, ITALY | EUROPE | AUGUST 2026
Italy’s governing coalition has closed ranks behind a tougher approach to irregular migration as disputes with Spain and Germany place increasing pressure on the European Union’s new asylum system.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini have presented a largely unified position centred on national security, stronger border enforcement and resistance to policies they believe encourage secondary movement across Europe.
The most visible confrontation is with Spain. Italy reintroduced selective controls on passengers arriving by air and sea from Spanish territory after tens of thousands of migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco at the end of July.
Rome argued that the extraordinary influx created potential migration and security risks for other European countries. The checks principally targeted non-EU nationals travelling from Spain and were introduced under provisions that allow Schengen members temporarily to restore internal border controls.
Madrid rejected Italy’s reasoning, noting that Ceuta is outside the Schengen area and that most of those who entered the Spanish enclave were quickly returned to Morocco. Spanish officials accused the Italian government of using the crisis to advance a domestic political agenda.
Spain subsequently imposed reciprocal checks on passengers arriving from Italy. Its controls, covering documentation, nationality and visa status at major airports and ports, are scheduled to remain in force until September 7.
The conflict has also been intensified by Spain’s large-scale regularization of undocumented migrants. Italy argues that granting legal residence to hundreds of thousands of people could eventually facilitate movement toward other EU states.
Spanish authorities maintain that regularization is needed to reduce labour exploitation, bring workers into the formal economy and respond to demographic and employment pressures. They also reject Rome’s attempt to link the programme directly to the Ceuta emergency.
A second dispute is developing with Germany over the return of asylum seekers. Under European rules, migrants can be transferred to the member state deemed responsible for processing their applications, often the country through which they first entered the European Union.
Italy reportedly rejected all 12 transfer requests submitted by Germany during the first weeks after the EU’s revamped migration and asylum framework began applying on June 12. The European Commission has urged Rome to cooperate with the new procedures.
The Italian government argues that frontline Mediterranean countries cannot continue absorbing disproportionate responsibility for arrivals while northern states use transfer mechanisms to send migrants back south.
Berlin, however, expects the common rules to be implemented consistently. Italy’s resistance has therefore cast doubt on previous declarations of cooperation between the two governments and exposed weaknesses in the EU system only weeks after its launch.
The confrontation reveals a deeper European contradiction. Member states have adopted common asylum rules and a permanent solidarity mechanism, but national governments continue prioritizing domestic political pressures whenever responsibility must be shared in practice.
Italy’s position also distinguishes between irregular migration and controlled legal entry. While intensifying border enforcement, the Meloni government has authorized almost 500,000 non-EU work permits between 2026 and 2028 to address shortages in agriculture, tourism and other sectors.
The disputes with Madrid and Berlin show that Europe’s migration crisis is no longer confined to its external borders. It is increasingly reshaping relations among member states and testing whether common rules can survive conflicting national interests.
Geopolítica, sin maquillaje. / Geopolitics, unmasked.