Europe Against Sanchez: Will Free Movement From Spain Be Suspended?

The surge of illegal migrants at the Spanish border remains a top priority on the European agenda. Following reports of tens of thousands of people crossing into Spanish territory, European Union member states have begun acting quickly to prevent these migrants from reaching the rest of the continent.

Italy, another member of the union, has begun rallying a majority of countries to decide on a temporary suspension of Spain from the Schengen Agreement—the treaty that allows free movement between European Union nations without passport stamping. Although Italy shares no common border with Spain, officials in Rome understand that once migrants enter the union's territory, it becomes extremely difficult to prevent their movement further into Europe. So far, Italy has managed to rally Finland, France, Sweden, Austria, and Denmark.

Although the response from Rome appears swift, the likelihood of this measure being fully implemented is low. During the previous migration crisis in 2015, a similar attempt was made to suspend another member state, Greece, which was suffering from mass migration, but it did not succeed. Furthermore, even if such a decision were reached in an emergency session, tens of thousands of migrants have already crossed the border and could potentially reach other parts of the continent.