DLC

Customs brochure: English Spanish

If there's a deal betweem Spain and Gibraltar by Christmas then Customs will be easier, although knowing these things it will start on the 1st of January.

Fredbargate

Your limits will depend on what you can take into Spain
To the best of my knowledge there are no limits on what you take out of Gibraltar,
There are no checks by Gibraltar on leaving by the frontier, only by Spain on entering Spain.

DLC

Likewise if you leave Spain and enter Gibraltar there are Gibraltan customs formalities.

The duty free allowance seems particularly miserly when compared to Spain's.

Fredbargate

Possibly because many duty paid items are already cheaper than duty free in Spain

Fredbargate

Spain precipitates diplomatic crisis over diplomatic bags

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 11:50
The decision by Spain to hold up United Kingdom diplomatic bags at the border for over a week can only be regarded as a profoundly unfriendly act.

The leaking of this to the Spanish media, in the same way as they have leaked sensitive nuclear submarine movements in advance, has exposed the fact that nothing much appears to have changed. The plain fact is that supposed allies do not behave in this way.
MEDIA
There are therefore two distinct issues at stake in this latest diplomatic crisis. The first is the detaining of UK diplomatic bags at the border and the second is the leaking of that action to the Spanish media

Spain precipitates diplomatic crisis over diplomatic bags | Gibraltar Panorama

Red Eric

Has the UK PM made up her mind whether Spain is friend or foe yet?

SanNico

I don't think it matters with her track record of making up her mind and sticking to her original thought.

DLC

More to the point, has she made up her mind as to whether the UK is friend or foe? It's difficult to tell.

Can't find anything in the Spanish press about diplomatic bags after the episode in 2013.

SanNico

Sounds interesting, what goods are cheaper down there? The good lady loves a bargain.

Fredbargate

Still trawling back years to find negatives DLC?

DLC

No, I did a Google search of the Spanish press over the past month to find the leak of the diplomatic incident to find more information as that article you cited in Gibraltar Panama was very light on detail. Only stories from 2013 turned up. It's almost as if it never happened which very confusing as surely the Gibraltar Panama couldn't be wrong. Perhaps you could post a link to the Spanish website with the story?

SanNico

I had a browse of the aforementioned digi-rag last night and light on detail is being generous. It appears to be more of an opinion page. They don't appear to be following any code of conduct with regard to differentiating between fact and opinion.

Fredbargate

17th October 2022, 14:23

Diplomatic bags destined for The Convent withheld by Spanish authorities at Gibraltar frontier for last 11 days

Published by GBC News

A number of diplomatic bags destined for The Convent have been withheld at the Gibraltar frontier for the last 11 days.

GBC understands the bags have not been opened.

In response to our questions, The Convent has confirmed some official correspondence between the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Office of the Governor in Gibraltar "was routed via the land border in error, rather than by air".

GBC asked for a comment on the situation and any diplomatic consequences it may carry. A spokesperson limited himself to saying: “We are liaising with the Spanish authorities.”

We also asked about the contents of the diplomatic bags, which together reportedly weigh a little under 150kg. The Office of the Governor said it is standard practice to not comment on the contents of official correspondence.

"Official correspondence and diplomatic bags are inviolable"

According to the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, packages carrying official documents and other material deemed necessary for use by a diplomatic mission - provided that they are clearly marked as such - cannot be opened, scanned or detained.

So far, there has been no suggestion these diplomatic bags have been opened by the Spanish authorities - something which happened in 2013.

Back then, Britain formally protested to the Spanish authorities after police opened a diplomatic bag at the border with Gibraltar. At the time, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo tried to argue it wasn’t technically a diplomatic bag because ‘it was not sent from an embassy or Ministry’. The British government laid out its position in 2013: "As far as we are concerned there is no justification for this infringement of the UK's rights under the Vienna Convention. Official correspondence and diplomatic bags are inviolable."

What next for the diplomatic bags withheld at the frontier?

At the time of producing this report, the diplomatic bags were still being held inside a vehicle at the Spanish customs compound - no doubt the Office of the Governor and the British Government will be hoping their conversations at diplomatic level yield results soon.

https://www.gbc.gi/news/diplomatic-b...0been%20opened.

DLC

More detail, so that's good, but no mention of any leak to the Spanish press and still nothing in the Spanish press. Could you come up with a link about the leak from somewhere other than the Gibraltar Panorama?

SanNico

Sounds more like the Gib media are leaking the info to me. The likelihood of someone accidentally sending 5 bags/boxes/pouches by land instead of air is almost as unbelievable as duty paid Gib goods being cheaper than Spanish duty free goods.