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►B DECISION No 210/97/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 19 December 1996
adopting an action programme for customs in the Community (Customs 2000)
(OJ L 33, 4.2.1997, p. 24)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Decision No 105/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 17 December 1999 L 13 1 19.1.20001997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 1
1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 2
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DECISION No 210/97/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 19 December 1996
adopting an action programme for customs in the Community (Cus-
toms 2000)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION,
Havingreg ard to the Treaty establishingthe European Community, and
in particular Article 100a thereof,
Havingreg ard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Havingreg ard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),
Actingin accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of
the Treaty(3) in the light of the joint text approved on 10 October 1996
by the Conciliation Committee,
(1)Whereas the completion of the internal market on 1 January1993, the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union, theenlargement of the Community to include new States, the exten-sion of the Community Transit System to include Poland, theCzech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary and the rapid develop-
ment of trade between the Community and the rest of the world,
in particular as a consequence of the General Agreement on Tar-iffs and Trade (GATT) agreements signed in April 1994 andapproved by the Council on 19 December 1994, require the clearidentification and implementation of strategic guidelines, so that
the role that customs services are expected to play in the Com-
munity may be better defined;
(2)Whereas, although the completion of the internal market elimi-nated controls on goods at all the internal borders of the Union,substantial differences persist between the home markets of theMember States and the internal market; whereas the continuingdevelopment of the internal market towards a genuine ‘homemarket’ must therefore be encouraged;
(3)Whereas the Member States and the Commission take all themeasures necessary to enable customs services to discharge their
responsibilities under the provisions for enforcement of common
policies, in particular in the context of monitoringimplementa-tion of the common commercial policy, the common agriculturalpolicy and the common fisheries policy, as efficiently as possi-ble;
(4)Whereas the fact that there are no internal borders, whileenabling goods to move freely throughout Community customs
territory without any customs formalities, makes it necessary to
carry out procedures and controls of equivalent effectiveness atevery point of that territory on entry or exit in order to safeguardthe application of Community policies and to protect the legiti-mate interests of citizens and economic operators as well as theCommunity's financial interests, while respectingthe need for
speed and fluidity in external trade;
(5)Whereas the application of these procedures and controls at thepoint of entry into, or exit from, Community customs territory or
at the point in that territory where customs clearance is carriedout is the responsibility of the customs administrations of the
(1) OJ No C 346, 23. 12. 1995, p. 4 and OJ No C 23, 27. 1. 1996, p. 7.
(2) OJ No C 301, 13. 11. 1995, p. 5.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 25 October 1995 (OJ No C 308, 20.
11. 1995, p. 46), common position of the Council of 22 December 1995 (OJ
No C 37, 9. 2. 1996 p. 11) and Decision of the European Parliament of 16
April 1996 (OJ No C 141, 13. 5. 1996, p. 36). Decision of the European Par-
liament of 10 December 1996 and Decision of the Council of 19 December
1996.
1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 3
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Member States; whereas the effectiveness of the action of those
customs administrations is an essential condition for guaranteeingthe proper management of the internal market; whereas, in cases
where it is necessary to ensure, inter alia, a high degree of protec-
tion of the Community's financial interests, criteria agreed atCommunity level shall determine the nature of the controls to becarried out;
(6)Whereas, for the protection of the financial interests of the Eur-opean Community, cooperation should be strengthened so that
the customs administrations of the Member States may operate as
efficiently and effectively as would one single administration;
(7)Whereas equivalent results can be obtained from customs actionin the application of Community law only by strengthening coop-eration and collaboration amongthe customs administrations ofthe Member States and between them and the Commission;
whereas the development of such cooperation can only strengthen
the effectiveness of instruments for the management of the bor-ders of the single market such as Council Regulation (EEC) No339/93 of 8 February 1993 on checks for conformity with therules on product safety in the case of products imported fromthird countries(
1);
(8)Whereas, in its communication of 16 February 1994 to the Eur-opean Parliament and the Council on the development of admin-istrative cooperation in the implementation and enforcement ofCommunity legislation in the internal market, the Commissionidentified customs as one of the various fields to be covered bythe Community; whereas, in its Resolution of 16 June 1994 on
the same subject(
2), the Council invited the Commission and the
Member States to pursue work actively in this field;
(9)Whereas the need for customs action with regard to the fightagainst the growth of illicit trafficking and fraud should beemphasized; whereas the Community must be able, within theframework of its own powers, to support the action of its Member
States; whereas, without prejudice to the obligations arising from
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of 19 May 1981 onmutual assistance between the administrative authorities of theMember States and cooperation between the latter and the Com-mission to ensure the correct application of the rules on customsor agricultural matters(
3), or from any other regulation that may
replace it, full advantage should be taken of every possibility for
administrative cooperation that Community rules provide;
(10)Whereas individual action by each administration is incapable ofachievingsuch as result; whereas it is essential for customs provi-sions to be applied in such a way as to ensure the proper func-tioningof the internal market; whereas a Community framework
is therefore necessary to establish plans and priorities in order to
arrive at coordinated action by the Community and the MemberStates to ensure that customs administrations are fitted to thetasks entrusted to them in the framework of a market with nointernal borders;
(11)Whereas the implementation of a Community action programme
constitutes one of the most suitable ways of achievingthese
objectives; whereas, in the interim and final reports to be sub-mitted, the Commission will consider whether establishinga cus-toms academy would be an effective way of improvingthe train-ingof Member States' customs officers in Community law;
(12)Whereas Article 127 of the Treaty makes clear that Communityaction in the field of vocational trainingshall fully respect the
(1) OJ No L 40, 17. 2. 1993, p. 1. Regulation as amended by the 1994 Act of
Accession.
(2) OJ No C 179, 1. 7. 1994, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 144, 2. 6. 1981, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EEC)
No 945/87 (OJ No L 90, 2. 4. 1987, p. 3).
1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 4
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responsibility of the Member States for the content and organiza-
tion of vocational training;
(13)Whereas the objectives of this action programme must be
grounded in a framework of objectives common to the Commu-
nity and the Member States, in order to guide their action;
(14)Whereas a first initiative has been taken with the implementationof the Community action programme for the vocational trainingof officials from the customs administrations (Matthaeus), estab-lished by Decision 91/341/EEC(
1);
(15)Whereas consideration must be given, in the fields of training
and technical cooperation, to the external dimension of the action
taken by the Community and the Member States; whereas theMember States may provide that their uniformed officials at thepoint of entry to and exit from the customs territory of the Com-munity visibly wear the twelve-star symbol of the EuropeanCommunity;
(16)Whereas the Community and the Member States contribute to thefinancingof the action prog ramme and the contribution paid outof the general budget of the European Communities will appearin Section III (Commission); whereas this Decision lays down,for the entire duration of the programme, a financial frameworkconstitutingthe principal point of reference, within the meaning
of point 1 of the Declaration by the European Parliament, the
Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995, for the budgetaryauthority duringthe annual budg etary procedure;
(17)Whereas a programme of five years' duration should be laiddown;
(18)Whereas this programme establishes the principles by which cus-toms policy will be guided over the next five years; whereas
implementation of this programme is coordinated and organized
in partnership between the Commission and the Member Statesin the Customs Policy Committee, made up of Directors-Generalof Customs Administrations from the Commission and the Mem-ber States, or their representatives;
(19)Whereas this action programme is based on the experience
acquired duringthe pilot project launched by the Commission
1994 and takes into account the findings set out in its communi-cation of 29 March 1995 entitled ‘Fraud in the transit procedure— solutions foreseen and perspectives for the future’;
(20)Whereas this programme comes within the scope of the powerslaid down by the Treaty and takes the principles of subsidiary
and proportionality into account,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Establishment of the programme
1. This Decision establishes a Community action programme sup-
portingand complementingthe action undertaken by Member States inthe customs field.
2. The action programme shall be known as the Customs 2002 Pro-
gramme and shall be implemented for the period 1 January 1996 to 31
December 2002.
2a. A common approach regarding the customs policy shall be drawn
up in partnership between the Commission and the Member States in aCustoms Policy Group, composed of Heads of Customs Administrations
(1) OJ No L 187, 13. 7. 1991, p. 41.▼M1
1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 5
from the Commission and the Member States or their representatives.
The Commission shall keep the Customs Policy Group regularlyinformed of measures relatingto the implementation of the prog ramme.
3. For the implementation of this programme, Community action
shall be based on the common framework of objectives referred to in
Article 4.
4. The procedure for implementingand evaluatingthis prog ramme
shall be as laid down in Articles 3 and 17 respectively.
5. For the purposes of this Decision, ‘customs administration’ shall
mean the public administration which is empowered to enforce customslegislation.
Article 2
Measures contributing to awareness of customs in the Community
The Member States may provide that their uniformed officials at the
point of entry to and exit from the customs territory of the Communityvisibly wear the twelve-star symbol of the European Community.
Article 4
Common framework of objectives
The common framework of objectives provided for in Article 1 (3),
within which the Commission and the Member States shall establishplans and priorities in order to define and carry out coordinated actionto ensure that customs action matches the needs of the Community'sinternal market, shall aim to:
1) guarantee that Community law is applied in such a way as to achieve
equivalent results at every point of Community customs territory inorder to:
— avoid distortions likely to prejudice the proper functioningof the
internal market which might arise owing to variations in the waycustoms procedures are applied in the various parts of the Com-munity;
— protect the Community's interests, particularly its financial inter-
ests;
— afford an equivalent level of protection to the Community's citi-
zens and economic operators, at whatever point in Community
customs territory customs clearance formalities are carried out,while ensuringthe fluidity required for international trade opera-tions;
2) provide a framework for consideringthe Community dimension in
the organization of services and in the provision of infrastructuresand equipment, and promote the joint use of operational materialcontributingto the implementation of Community rules;
3) foster initiatives that Member States may propose to implement, sin-
gly or jointly, to improve the overall efficiency of customs adminis-
trations in carryingout their tasks;
4) help Member States develop trainingfor customs administration
officials by adaptingit to their chang ingrole in the implementation
of Community customs rules and common policies at external bor-
ders;
5) contribute, by appropriate actions in the fields of trainingand techni-
cal assistance and cooperation, to the establishment or the develop-ment of high-quality customs services in third countries that sorequest under agreements which the Community has concluded ormay conclude with those third countries, and by this means encou-rage the development of Community trade;▼
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1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 6
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6) encourage openness and efficiency of customs action for the benefit
of legitimate trade by strengthening relations between the Commu-nity's customs administrations, business, legal and scientific circles,
and operators engaged in foreign trade;
7) help the customs administrations of the associated countries that
wish to accede to the European Union.
Article 5
Customs controls
In accordance with the objectives defined in point 1 of Article 4, the
Member States and the Commission shall:
1) make sure that the customs controls which are carried out protect the
interests, particularly the financial interests, of the Community,ensure an effective, efficient and homogeneous application of Com-munity rules and common policies, provide an equivalent level ofprotection and make it possible to check that procedures relatingtoconformity with technical standards, to the safety of imported pro-
ducts and to dangerous products have been complied with, at what-
ever point in Community customs territory customs clearance form-alities are carried out, while ensuringthe smooth flow of trade;
2) take special care that customs administrations can intervene effi-
ciently for the purposes of the proper application of other Commu-
nity provisions affectingcontrols at the point of entry into, or exit
from, Community customs territory or the point in Community cus-toms territory where customs clearance formalities are carried out.This applies especially to provisions relatingto common policies, todevelopment cooperation and to the protection of intellectual prop-erty, of the environment, of consumers and of the cultural heritage;
3) work in collaboration to obtain equivalent results with regard to both
controls on and simplification of trade in order to avoid distortionsof competition which could lead to deflection of trade, and to ensureequal treatment between operators;
4) in order to achieve these objectives, adjust workingmethods, equip-
ment and materials so as to reinforce the effectiveness of controls;
foster in particular the development of targeting, risk analysis and aposteriori auditingtechniques and, where necessary, determine thenature of controls in order to achieve equivalent results;
5) ensure that administrative penalties for breaches of Community rules
are of an effective, proportionate and deterrent character;
6) take full advantage of all the possibilities provided by Community
legislation setting up administrative cooperation as well as by agree-ments on mutual assistance concluded with third countries;
7) have recourse to the appropriate facilities for analysingand evaluat-
ingthe implementation of controls and procedures put into opera-tion;
8) examine the powers of Member States' customs administration offi-
cials and take care to promote the best possible use of availableresources.
Article 6
Monitoring and adjustment of Community rules and procedures
1. The Commission, in partnership with the Member States and in
close consultation with the economic partners, shall arrange for the con-
tinuous monitoringof Community rules and procedures, in particular as
they arise from the Community Customs Code established by Regula-tion (EEC) No 2913/92(
1) and its implementingprovisions.
(1) OJ No L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1. Regulation as amended by the 1994 Act of
Accession.
1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 7
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2. The aim of such monitoringshall be to ensure that these rules and
procedures are adjusted to:
— protectingthe interests of the Community and of Member States;— the needs of operators engaged in foreign trade, particularly through
simplification of the said rules and procedures.
3. By carryingout specific joint actions, as described in Article 10,
the Commission and the Member States shall endeavour to identify anydifficulties in implementingthese rules as well as any possible malfunc-
tioning of the internal market that divergent practices might entail.
Article 7
Recovery
To improve the results obtained in the post-clearance collection of
duties unpaid or evaded on the recovery of amounts wrongly paid out,the Commission shall submit a report on the Member States' legal pro-visions and the difficulties encountered by their customs authorities.
Within the framework of its powers, the Commission shall do its utmost
to coordinate the measures taken in this field by the Member States andshall propose appropriate amendments to safeguard the interests of the
Community.
Article 8
The fight against fraud
1. For the purpose of fulfillingthe objectives set out in points 1 and
2 of Article 4 and points 2 and 5 of Article 5, the Commission and theMember States shall make every effort to use as rationally and effi-ciently as possible the means by which they act to combat fraud and illi-cit trafficking. This action is to be interpreted as covering any Commu-nity rules or provisions applicable to any trade in goods between the
Community and third countries, includingthe presence or transit of
goods in connection with such trade.
2. To this end, the Commission and the Member States shall draw
up, carry out and further develop a policy of combatingcustoms fraudat Community level in order to take account of the progress of Europeanintegration, the Community's international commitments and develop-
ments in the customs situation in this regard, by using their resources in
the best possible and complementary manner.
This policy shall aim in particular at:
1) taking maximum advantage of existing legislative provisions and,
where necessary, amendingthem;
2) improvingthe collection, analysis, distribution and exploitation of
information at Community level, makingthe fullest use of informa-tion technology, and increasing the use of computer systems by thecustoms services as rapidly as possible; this includes:
— the need for the Commission and the Member States to take the
action required, within the framework of the TIR Convention,
with a view to the computerized control of the use of TIR car-
nets;
— the computerization of the Community Transit System
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3) indentifyingobstacles which impede efficient action and cooperation
in the fight against fraud, in order to eliminate them as far as possi-ble, in particular with regard to the role and powers of customs
administration officials;
4) ensuringthat effective penalties are applied;5) pursuingand developingcoordinated actions, in particular Commu-
nity investigative or control missions in third countries;
6) developingcooperation with third countries, particularly the asso-
ciated countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and with competentinternational organizations, as well as with relevant business circles;
1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 8
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7) makingg reater use, for the benefit of the whole Community, of the
capacities of Commission and Member State staff in third countries;
8) ensuringthat irreg ularities are followed up.
3. The computerisation of the Transit system, referred to in the sec-
ond indent of point 2 of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2, must
be fully operational by 30 June 2003. The Commission shall inform the
European Parliament and the Council immediately of any delays in theintroduction of the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS).
4. Elements to support the fight against fraud shall be integrated in
all actions taken in the framework of this programme, unless they ham-
per the successful completion of the actions themselves.
Article 9
Improvements in working methods
The Commission shall support actions aimed at improvingthe working
methods of customs administrations. In partnership with the MemberStates, it shall encourage the coordinated development and application
of new workingmethods, in particular in the followingfields:
1) risk-analysis, in order to determine whether goods subject to customs
control must undergo a documentary or a physical examination
before release is granted;
2) the use of audit techniques to check undertakings' accounts;
3) simplified procedures for assigning goods to, and discharging them
from, a customs-approved treatment;
4) the use of computerized handlingof customs procedures, including
use of the most up-to-date techniques for electronic data exchange,
takinginto account the current state of computerization of nationaladministrations and the interests of Community economic operators,as well as relevant developments in the international sphere; in part-nership with the Member States, the Commission will study the pos-sibilities of developingcomputerized means suited to facilitatingthe
exchange of information between customs administrations;
5) the conclusion of memoranda of understandingwith economic
operators in order to establish appropriate facilities for controlling,checkingand exchang inginformation or data which may help to
protect the Community's interests.
Article 10
Specific joint actions
1. For the purposes, in particular, of implementingthe actions speci-
fied in this programme, the Commission shall decide each year, in part-nership with the Member States, which specific sectors of Communitycustoms legislation will be subject to monitoring.
Such monitoringshall be carried out by joint teams made up of customs
experts from the Member States and the Commission.
The teams thus made up shall, on the basis of a theme-by-theme
approach, visit particular points in Community customs territory. At theend of these visits, they shall draw up a report identifyingand analysingthe best workingmethods as well as any difficulties in implementing
the rules observed at the various sites studied and, where appropriate,
including suggestions for the adaptation of both Community rules andworkingmethods in order to improve the efficiency of customs actionsas a whole. These experts reports shall be communicated to the relevantdepartments of the Member States and of the Commission.
2. In addition to such monitoring, the Commission, in partnership
with the Member States, shall also have recourse, interalia, to:
(a) complementary studies intended to show the points of view of the
various operators engaged in foreign trade;▼
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1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 9
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(b) the organization of working parties and of seminars charged with
studyingways of effectinga coordinated improvement in the opera-tion of customs administrations.
Article 11
Role and powers of officials of customs administrations
The powers of officials of Member States' customs administrations shall
be examined, ►
M1within the framework of the procedure provided
for in Article 16b ◄, with regard to the role they are required to play
in implementingCommunity law.
Article 12
Rational and coordinated use of resources
1. For the purposes of implementingpoint 2 of Article 4, the Com-
mission shall set up a Community framework for consultation and coor-
dination in order to ensure that account is taken of the requirements of
the internal market and of the needs of Member States.
2. Within this Community framework for consultation and coordina-
tion, the Commission, in partnership with the Member States, shallidentify the means necessary for customs action and the resourcesenablingit to be carried out, in particular throug h the use of any avail-
able instruments of Community finance, through joint operations and
through other arrangements or actions which might prove necessary inorder to attain the objectives of this programme.
3. To help identify such possibilities for action, the Commission
shall organize meetings of experts, as well as seminars, bringing
together, as necessary, representatives of the business circles concerned.
4. The Commission, in partnership with the Member States, shall
take care to promote the best possible use of resources by simplifiedcustoms rules and procedures and by the use of information technolo-gies.
5. Without prejudice to amendments to the Financial Regulation of
21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the EuropeanCommunities(
1), and Council Decision 94/728/EC, Euratom of 31 Octo-
ber 1994 on the system of own resources of the European Commu-
nities(2), the Commission shall seek to establish, in partnership with the
Member States, performance criteria to support the monitoringof theMember States' performance in administeringthe collection of customsduties.
Article 13
Administrative customs penalties
1. In order to ensure that penalties are such that Community legisla-
tion is enforced with equal effect and to protect the Community's finan-
cial interests effectively, the Commission, in partnership with the Mem-ber States, and with due regard for
— the principles set out in point 5 of Article 5;— the respective powers of the Community and the Member States and
the principles of Member States' national law, in the light of theprinciples of subsidiarity and proportionality,
shall identify irregularities in the customs sector, on the basis of the
obligations resulting from the Community Customs Code and from itsimplementingprovisions and on the basis of a comparative study oftheir importance and rankingin the leg al order of the Member States in
(1) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC,
ECSC, Euratom) No 2729/98 (OJ L 347, 23.12.1998, p. 3).
(2) OJ L 293, 12.11.1994, p. 9.▼M1
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the light of their degree of gravity. The Commission shall submit any
proposals it considers necessary to achieve these objectives.
2. The Commission shall inform the budgetary authority of the con-
tent of the measures which it has adopted.
Article 13a
Information exchange and communication systems, manuals and
guides
1. The Commission and the Member States shall be responsible for
the operability of such existinginformation exchang e and communica-
tion systems, manuals and guides as they consider necessary. They shallestablish such new information exchange and communication systems,manuals and guides as they consider necessary and shall keep themoperational.
2. The Community components of the information exchange and
communication systems shall be the Community databases formingpartof these systems, the hardware, the software and the network connec-
tions which have to be common to all Member States in order to ensure
the interconnection and interoperability of the systems, whether they areinstalled in the premises of the Commission (or designated subcontrac-tor) or of the Member States (or designated subcontractor).
3. The non-Community components of the information exchange and
communication systems shall be the national databases formingpart ofthese systems, the network connections between the Community and
non-Community components and the software and hardware which each
Member State considers necessary to ensure optimal use of the systemsthroughout the administration
Article 14
Training actions
1. The Member States and the Commission shall implement the mea-
sures necessary to attain the objectives defined in point 4 of Article 4,bearingin mind ►
M1 ◄respective responsibilities for
trainingpolicy.
2. Special attention shall be paid to the development of trainingfor
instructors and to the initial trainingg iven to customs office in order
that common teachingmodules relatingto the full rang e of customs
rules and procedures and common policies may be drawn up and pro-vided. Specific actions must be introduced and carried through in sup-port of Member States' efforts in the field of continuingtrainingso as toprovide staff of customs administrations with the level of trainingnecessary to carry out their tasks.
3. This trainingshall be complemented by actions aimed at making
Community customs receptive to the best workingmethods and techni-
ques developed in third-country customs administrations and, more gen-
erally, by increased cooperation with these countries.
To this end, accordingto the needs identified and on a reciprocal basis,
exchanges of officials with these administrations, as well as trainingseminars, may be organized, with the Community budget taking respon-sibility for that share of the cost of these operations relatingto officialsfrom Community administrations as well as contribution, to be deter-mined on a case-by-case basis, to the costs linked to the organization of
the seminars. In accordance with the principle of sound financial man-
agement, the Commission shall finance the operations and the organiza-tion of seminars which are the most cost-effective.
4. The Commission will examine, in partnership with the Member
States, the possibilities of introducingcustoms trainingmeasures,includingcommon core trainingprog rammes for implementation bynational administrations, directed firstly towards joint trainingof seniorofficials of the customs administrations of the Member States and the▼
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1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 11
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Commission or other Community institutions and secondly towards in-
service trainingfor such officials, inter alia by means of exchang es ofexperience and the organization of seminars on Community territory.
Article 14a
Exchanges of officials and seminars
1. The Commission and the Member States shall organise exchanges
of officials. Each exchange shall focus on a specific aspect of customswork and shall be thoroughly prepared and subsequently evaluated bythe officials and authorities concerned.
Member States shall take the necessary steps to enable exchange offi-
cials to be operational in the host service. To this end, exchange offi-cials shall be authorised to carry out the formalities relatingto the duties
entrusted to them. If circumstances so require, and in particular in order
to take account of the specific requirements of the legal system of eachMember State, the competent authorities in the Member States maylimit the said authorisation.
For the duration of the exchange, the official shall, in the exercise of his
duties, bear the same civil liability as national officials of the hostauthorities. Officials takingpart in an exchang e shall be subject to thesame rules on professional confidentiality as the national officials of thehost country.
2. The Commission and the Member States shall organise seminars
to be attended by Member State and Commission officials and, whereappropriate, representatives of the business and academic world.
Article 15
Training and technical assistance actions for the customs adminis-
trations of third countries
Within the framework of the implementation of point 5 of Article 4, the
Commission shall ensure, in partnership with the Member States, the
coordination of the trainingand technical assistance and cooperation
actions carried out by the Community and the Member States for thebenefit of third countries' customs administrations, to ensure the consis-tency of Community action on training, both external and internal. TheCommission shall also, in partnership with the Member States and as
far as available resources allow, ensure the implementation of training
and technical assistance and cooperation actions for the benefit of third-country administrations. In the framework of these actions, it shall bearthe expenses that arise.
Article 16
Relations with operators engaged in external trade
1. Within the framework of the implementation of point 6 of Article
4, the Commission shall set up actions, or give support to initiativestaken by the Member States, aimed at improvingand streng theningrela-tions between the customs administrations of the Community and opera-
tors engaged in foreign trade. The Commission shall take particular
account of findings and information provided by operators engaged inforeign trade.
2. These actions may take the form, in particular, of:
— the development, publication and distribution of information media
intended to make operators more familiar with customs procedures,and in particular with simplified customs clearance procedures,
which aim to strengthen the competitiveness of the Community
economy;
— an in-depth dialogue between business circles, the Commission and
the Member States, in particular on proposed customs measures▼
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1997D0210 — EN — 19.01.2000 — 001.001 — 12
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which may have a significant influence on economic activity, on the
simplification of customs rules and procedures and on the subjectsreferred to in point 1 of Article 4;
— trainingactivities aimed at makingthe various foreig n trade opera-
tors more familiar with Community law.
Article 16a
Applicant countries' participation
The applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe may take part in
the programme in accordance with the provisions of the Europe Agree-
ments concerningthe terms of such participation, as may Cyprus andMalta, insofar as Community customs law permits. In the framework ofthe customs union, the programme shall also be open to Turkey insofaras Community customs law permits.
The annual breakdown of appropriations dedicated to the co-financing
of the programme shall be published in Annex IV, Part B, Section III ofthe budget of the European Union.
Article 16b
Implementation
The measures necessary for the implementation of this programme
relatingto the matters referred to below shall be adopted in accordance
with the management procedure referred to in Article 16c(2).
Article 16c
Committee
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, havingreg ard to the provisions ofArticle 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 17
Evaluation and reports
1. This programme shall be subject to continuous evaluation, carried
out in partnership between the Commission and the Member States.
The evaluation shall be pursued by means of the reports referred to in
paragraph 2 and by means of specific activities.
2. Member States shall forward to the Commission:
— by 31 December 2000 at the latest, an interim report, and— by 31 December 2002 at the latest, a final report
on the implementation of this programme.
3. The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to
the Council:
— by 30 June 2001 at the latest, an interim report on the implementa-
tion of this programme,
— by 30 June 2001 at the latest, a communication on the desirability of
continuingthis prog ramme, accompanied, if necessary, by an appro-priate proposal,▼
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— by 30 June 2003 at the latest, a final report on the implementation
of this programme.
These reports shall also be forwarded to the Economic and Social Com-
mittee for information.
4. The communication and final report referred to in paragraph 3
shall analyse all the progress achieved in the case of each measure inthe programme. They shall be accompanied by a report analysing thestrengths and weaknesses of any kind of customs computerisation sys-
tems involved in the implementation of the internal market.
These accompanyingreports shall set out any useful proposals for
ensuringthat identical treatment is reserved for operators throug houtthe Community customs territory and that the gathering of informationserves the proper protection of the Community's financial interests.
Article 18
Financing
1. Without prejudice to operations financed under other Community
programmes, the financial framework for the implementation of this
programme for the period 1 January 1996 to 31 December 2002 ishereby set at EUR 135 million in accordance with the arrangements setout in the Annex.
The annual appropriations shall be authorised within the limit of the
financial perspective.
2. Each Member State shall, to the extent of its involvement, partici-
pate in the achievement of the aims of the programme in compliancewith its budgetary procedures and plans.
Article 19
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the
OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities .
It shall apply from 1 January 1996.
Article 20
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.▼
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ANNEX
Breakdown of the financial framework referred to in Article 18(1)
(inECU/EURmillion)
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Total
Internalpolicies
Redeployment of internal
market appropriations— 3,8 2,6 2,9 3,2 3,2 3,2 18,9
Training2,6 2,6 2,6 2,6 10,4
Computerisation 1,0 2,7 15,0 15,0 16,5 16,8 16,9 83,9
Improvement of means of
combatingfraud— 1,8 1,5 1,5 1,5 1,5 1,5 9,3
Externalactions 1,9 2,7 1,9 1,5 1,5 1,5 1,5 12,5
Total 2,9 11,0 21,0 23,5 25,3 25,6 25,7 135,0