MEDICINES bound for Gibraltar have been held up at the Spanish border for days under a brand new EU customs system.
The disruption began on July 16, the first working day after a new UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar entered what is known as ‘provisional application’ – meaning its terms are already in practical effect, even though full ratification by the European Parliament is not expected until the autumn.
The treaty scrapped the old fence and checks at the frontier, replacing them with a system in which goods crossing from Spain must now clear EU customs procedures.
Pharmaceuticals, which carry a unique duty-exemption code, were among the first imports to run into trouble.
A lorry carrying the GHA’s chemotherapy drugs was still waiting to cross on Monday night, with Business and Health Minister Gemma Arias-Vasquez telling the Gibraltar Chronicle it was expected to clear ‘within the next 24 hours’ – a deadline that slipped by two more days.
Pharmacies across Gibraltar separately reported thousands of doses caught in the same backlog, though none reported an actual shortage on their shelves.
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One pharmacist raised concerns that refrigerated medicines, including insulin, could be at risk if the cold chain broke during the delay. No such loss has been reported.
Freight volumes are recovering: 170 lorries crossed the border on Tuesday, and 184 on Wednesday, alongside the first shipments of non-EU food since the treaty took effect.
The Gibraltar Health Authority’s (GHA) delayed chemotherapy consignment finally crossed the frontier on Wednesday, the Government confirmed today, adding that two technical causes behind the wider hold-ups have now been identified.
Both faults sat on the Spanish side of the border, according to the Government, and relate to how consignments were being processed on entry rather than the treaty’s own terms or any failing by HM Customs Gibraltar.
Spanish officials say the fixes are being applied. The Government has not said when they will be finished.
Arias-Vasquez visited the customs post in person on two consecutive evenings this week.
“I made sure there were no photos taken so as to not be accused of photo opportunities, and yet, here we are,” she said.
The update followed sharp criticism from the opposition Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD), whose spokespeople published a graphic branding the situation a ‘blocked delivery of medications’
Shadow for Health Joelle Ladislaus and Shadow Business Minister Craig Sacarello had already accused ministers of failing to prepare, despite being given an extra three months to ready the new system.
The Government has not said when the two customs faults it has identified will be fully fixed.
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