Spain extends border controls on travelers from Italy until Oct. 22

Spain has extended temporary border controls on travelers arriving from Italy by air and sea for another 15 days, until Oct. 22, according to an order published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday.

The Interior Ministry order said the extension will take effect at midnight on Oct. 8 and remain in force until midnight on Oct. 22.

The ministry said the reasons for "urgency and serious threat to public order and internal security" that prompted the controls continue to exist, making their extension necessary under the Schengen Borders Code.

Spain initially introduced the controls for 30 days from Aug. 8 to Sept. 7, before extending them twice -- first until Sept. 22 and then until Oct. 7. Tuesday's order marks the third extension.

The controls apply to Spain's internal air and maritime borders for passengers arriving from Italy. The original order limits them to passenger flights and maritime connections whose last airport or port of departure is in Italian territory.

The latest order says the measure will be continuously assessed and may be lifted before Oct. 22 if the threats disappear or can be addressed through less restrictive measures.

Any further extension would require a new decision based on an updated assessment of its necessity and proportionality, according to the gazette.

The controls were initially introduced after Italy imposed border checks on travelers from Spain following the mass arrival of around 72,000 migrants in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31.

More than 3,000 migrants, including several hundred minors, are still living on the streets of the Spanish enclave in North Africa, according to the latest estimates.

Spain responded by introducing controls on travelers arriving from Italy on Aug. 8, formally citing migration pressure on the Central Mediterranean route and unauthorized onward movements from Italy to other Schengen countries, including Spain.