Spain cannot be expelled from Schengen, expert says

Spain cannot be expelled from the Schengen border-free travel area under existing rules, a law professor told AFP, after Italy called for Spain to be suspended following thousands of migrant arrivals in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in Morocco.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that Spain should be suspended from Schengen, describing images from Ceuta as “shocking”. Spain rejected Italy’s stance as “demagoguery” and summoned Italy’s ambassador in Madrid.

Finland backed Italy’s call on Friday, while Denmark said the European Union should consider the move. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the EU should consider “all options”, including suspension of Schengen cooperation. Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said countries that do not protect the external border cannot be Schengen members.

Marie-Laure Basilien-Gainche, a law professor at Lyon 3 University, told AFP that such an expulsion is not legally possible. “There is no provision in the Schengen framework for this kind of action. One state cannot unilaterally expel another from the area,” she said.

Schengen rules do allow member states to temporarily restore border checks in exceptional circumstances, including serious threats to internal security or public order, and sudden large-scale unauthorised movements of non-EU nationals. France tightened checks on its border with Spain on Friday.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen described the scenes in Ceuta as “unacceptable”, and her team is in contact with Spain and Morocco. An EU official told AFP that Brussels rejected Italy’s call and said the priority was securing the EU’s external borders.

The official said the current crisis concerned Ceuta, on the African continent, and that additional checks are needed for entry into mainland Europe. The official said no onward movement into mainland Europe had been detected so far.