P7_TA(2013)0509

Action programme for customs ***I

European Parliament legislative resolution of 21 November 2013 on the amended proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an action programme for customs in the European Union for the period 2014-2020 (Customs 2020) and repealing Decision No 624/2007/EC (COM(2012)0464 — C7-0241/2012 — 2011/0341A(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

(2016/C 436/63)

The European Parliament,

having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2011)0706) and the amended proposal (COM(2012)0464),

having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 33 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C7-0241/2012),

having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

having regard to the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 17 July 2013 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to the report of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A7-0026/2013),

Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) No 1294/2013.)

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 21 November 2013 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No …/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an action programme for customs in the European Union for the period 2014-2020 (Customs 2020) and repealing Decision No 624/2007/EC

ANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Effective, efficient, modern and harmonised approaches to customs controls at the external border of the Union are essential:

— to protect the financial interests of the Union and its Member States,

— to fight against illegal trade while allowing facilitations for legitimate business activity,

— to ensure the safety and security of the Union and its inhabitants, and the protection of the environment,

— to protect intellectual property rights, and

— to secure compliance with the common commercial policy.

In order to exercise such controls, it is crucial for customs to have access to the appropriate tools, such as detection equipment and technology. The need for these tools is exemplified, amongst others, in Europol’s Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2011, which states that the economic impact of cigarette smuggling represents a loss to the budgets of the Member States and of the Union estimated at around EUR 10 billion per year.

At present, the several instruments of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) available to co-fund the acquisition of such tools are not exploited to the fullest extent. To achieve efficient allocation of funding resources, the European Parliament invites the Commission to present a report, no later than mid-2018, on the provision of the necessary financial resources to purchase appropriate tools for customs controls in the area referred to in point (a) of Article 3(1) TFEU, including the possibility of allocating those resources through a single fund.