After a week of rumors, conversations and supposed leaks — which Italian authorities did not comment on publicly, neither to deny nor to confirm — Italy's Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, set for this Monday, August 31, the decision on the future of border controls with Spain. The central question is whether Rome will eliminate or maintain the random controls at the border with the neighboring country.
These controls were implemented as a measure justified at the end of July, in response to the migratory pressure recorded in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in North Africa. The measure represented a tightening of the migratory policies of the Italian government.
Throughout the week preceding the announcement, various pieces of information circulated about possible directions for the decision, but Italian authorities opted for silence, not officially commenting on any of the versions that appeared in the press.
Monday's decision will have a direct impact on free movement between the two Mediterranean countries, since the controls affect travel at the Italian-Spanish border, which is one of the busiest in Europe.
