Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting an action programme for Community customs (Customs 2000) (95/C 346/04) COM(95) 119 final - 95/0087(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 6 April 1995) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty instituting the European Community, and in particular Articles 100A and 113 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Whereas the completion of the internal market since 1 January 1993, the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union, the enlargement of the Union to include new States and the rapid development of trade between the Union and the rest of the world, in particular as a consequence of the GATT agreements signed in April 1994 and approved by the Council on 19 December 1994, require the clear identification and implementation of strategic guidelines, so that the role that customs services are expected to play in the European Union may be better defined;

Whereas the existence of a single external border, while enabling goods to move freely throughout the territory of the Union, without formalities of a customs nature, makes it necessary to carry out procedures and controls of equivalent effectiveness at every point of this external border at the time of entry into or exit from this territory, in order to safeguard the application of Community policies and to protect the legitimate interests of citizens and economic operators as well as the Community's financial interests, while respecting the need for speed and fluidity in external trade;

Whereas the application of these procedures and controls at the external border of the European Union is the responsibility of the customs administrations of the Member States; whereas the effectiveness of the action of these customs administrations is an essential condition for guaranteeing the proper management of the internal market; whereas it may, however, sometimes prove necessary to agree at Community level on the criteria which will determine the level at which controls must be carried out;

Whereas equivalent results can be obtained from customs action in the application of Community law only by strengthening cooperation and collaboration among the customs administrations of the 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 borders of the single market such as Council Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 of 8 February 1993 on checks for conformity with product safety in the case of products imported from third countries (1);

Whereas, in its communication of 16 February 1994 to the European Parliament and the Council on the development of administrative cooperation in the implementation and enforcement of Community legislation in the internal market (2), the Commission identified customs as one of the various fields to be covered by the Community; whereas, in its resolution of 16 June 1994 on the same subject (3) the Council invited the Commission and the Member States to pursue work actively in this field;

Whereas the need for customs action with regard to the fight against the growth of illicit traffic and fraud should be emphasized, and the Community must be able, within the framework set by its own competences, 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 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs or agricultural matters (4), or from any other regulation that may replace it, full advantage should be taken of every possibility for administrative cooperation that Community rules provide;

Whereas individual action by each administration cannot enable such a result to be attained; and it is essential for customs provisions to be applied in a uniform way in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market; whereas a Community framework is therefore necessary to draw up plans and priorities in order to arrive at coordinated action by the Community and the Member States to ensure the adaptation of the customs administrations to the tasks which are entrusted to them in the framework of a market with no internal borders;

Whereas the implementation of an action programme for Community customs constitutes one of the most suitable ways of achieving these objectives;

Whereas the objectives of this action programme must be grounded in a framework of objectives common to the Community and the Member States, in order to guide their action;

Whereas a first initiative has already been taken with the implementation of the Community action programme for the vocational training of officials from the customs administrations (Matthaeus) (5);

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 its Member States;

Whereas the financing of the action programme will be shared between the Community and the Member States, and the Community contribution will appear in the budget of the Commission; whereas this decision establishes, for the whole duration of the programme, a total financial allocation which constitutes the preferred reference point, within the meaning of point 1 of the declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995, for the budgetary authority in the framework of the annual budget procedure;

Whereas a programme of five years' duration should be foreseen;

Whereas this programme is based on the experience acquired during the pilot action launched by the Commission in 1994,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Establishment of the programme

1. This decision establishes an action programme for Community customs, supporting and complementing the actions undertaken by and in the Member States, with due respect for the responsibilities which fall upon the latter with regard to the implementation of Community law.

2. The programme shall be called 'Customs 2000` and shall be implemented for the period from 1 January 1996 to 31 December 2000.

3. The action of the Community shall be based on a common framework of objectives for the implementation of this programme.

4. The monitoring and assessment procedure provided for in Article 15 shall aim to analyse the results obtained and to draw lessons for the continuation of the Community action.

Article 2

Common framework of objectives

The common framework provided for in Article 1 (3), within which the Community and the Member States will draw up plans and priorities in order to define and carry out coordinated action to ensure that customs action adequately matches the needs of the European Union's internal market, shall comprise the following objectives:

1. To safeguard the uniform application of Community law in order to achieve equivalent results at every point of the border of the European Union, thereby avoiding distortions likely to prejudice the proper functioning of the internal market which might appear because of variations in the way customs procedures are carried out in the various parts of the Union, and also to protect the Community's financial interests.

2. To provide an equivalent level of protection to the Union's citizens and economic operators, whatever the place where goods cross the external frontier, while ensuring the necessary smooth flow of international trade operations.

3. To strengthen awareness of the Community dimension in the organization of services and in the provision of infrastructures and equipment, and to promote the joint use of operational material contributing to the implementation of Community legislation.

4. To encourage and support initiatives that Member States may propose to implement, singly or jointly, to improve the overall efficiency of customs administrations in carrying out their missions.

5. To enhance the training given to officials from the customs administrations by supporting the teaching of subjects that enable them to adapt to evolving tasks and technologies in a way that adequately matches the Community dimension of their mission.

6. To contribute, by appropriate actions in the fields of training and technical assistance and cooperation, to the establishment or the development of customs services of quality in third countries that so request and, by this means, to encourage the development of the Union's external trade.

7. To encourage openness and efficiency of customs action for the benefit of legitimate trade by strengthening the relations among the customs administrations of the Union, business, legal and scientific circles, and operators engaged in international trade.

Article 3

Specific joint actions

1. For the purposes, in particular, of carrying out the strategy defined in Articles 5 (1), (3), (4), (5) and (6), 6 and 9, the Commission shall set up monitoring actions in specific sectors of Community customs legislation.

It shall decide the sectors each year, in partnership with the Member States.

These actions shall 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 of the external border. At the end of these visits, they shall draw up a report analysing the working methods as well as any possible difficulties of implementing the rules observed at the various sites studied and, where appropriate, including suggestions for the adaptation of both Community rules and working methods used, in ways likely to improve the efficiency of customs action as a whole.

2. In addition to these monitoring actions, the Commission, in partnership with the Member States, shall also have recourse, inter alia, to:

(a) complementary studies intended to reveal the points of view of the various actors involved in international trade;

(b) the organization of working parties and of seminars charged with studying the means of improving the operation of customs administrations in a coordinated way.

Article 4

Member States shall adopt the necessary provisions at national level to ensure the coordination and organization of the implementation of the actions of this programme, in particular by providing for suitable structures and mechanisms.

Article 5

Control of the external border

In accordance with the objectives defined in Article 2 (1) to (4), the Member States and the Commission shall:

1. make sure that the controls at the external border guarantee the flow of traffic, protect the financial interests of the Community, ensure an effective, efficient and homogeneous application of Community rules, and common policies; provide an equivalent level of protection and make it possible to check that procedures relating to conformity with technical standards, the safety of imported products and dangerous products have been complied with, no matter where the external border is crossed;

2. work in collaboration to obtain equivalent results with regard both to the control and the simplification of trade at the external border, in order to avoid distortions of competition which could lead to deflection of trade, and to guarantee identical treatment for all operators;

3. put in place, in order to achieve these objectives, the most suitable new working methods, equipment and materials so as to reinforce the effectiveness of controls at the external border;

4. ensure that penalties for breaches of Community rules are of an effective, proportionate and deterrent character;

5. take full advantage of all the possibilities provided by Community legislation setting up administrative cooperation as well as agreements on mutual assistance with third countries;

6. have recourse to the appropriate facilities for analysing and evaluating the implementation of controls and procedures put into operation at the external border;

7. carry out a detailed consideration of the definition and exercise of the powers held by customs officers and of the possibilities for coordinating the use of available resources.

Article 6

Monitoring the application of Community customs legislation and its continuing adaptation to the evolving realities of international trade

1. The Commission, in partnership with the Member States and in close concertation with the economic partners, shall arrange for continuous monitoring of Community rules and procedures, in particular as they arise from the rules of the Community Customs Code and of its implementing provisions.

2. The aim of this monitoring shall be to ensure that these rules and procedures are adapted to the protection of the legitimate interests of the Union and of its Members, while meeting the requirements of operators engaged in international trade.

3. By carrying out common actions, as described in Article 3, the Commission and the Member States shall endeavour to identify any difficulties involved in implementing these rules as well as any possible malfunctioning of the internal market that divergent practices might entail.

Article 7

The fight against fraud

For the purposes of fulfilling the objectives set out in Article 2 (1 to 3) and in Article 5 (2) and (4), the Community and the Member States shall make every effort to use as rationally and efficiently as possible the means by which they act to combat fraud and illicit traffic. This action is to be interpreted broadly and covers any rules or provisions applicable to any trade in goods whatever between the Community and third countries, including the presence or transit of goods in connection with such trade.

To this end, the Community and the Member States shall draw up, carry out and further develop a policy of combating customs fraud at Community level in order to take account of developments in European construction, the Community's international commitments, the evolution of the relevant situation with regard to customs and other sectors and the need to make the best possible use of their resources in a complementary way.

This policy shall aim in particular at:

- taking maximum advantage of existing legislative provisions, and, where necessary, amending them,

- improving the collection, analysis, distribution and exploitation of information at Community level, making the fullest use of information technology,

- removing obstacles to efficient action and cooperation in the fight against fraud, in particular with regard to the powers of enquiry of customs investigators,

- applying effective penalties,

- pursuing and developing coordinated actions, in particular Community investigative or control missions in third countries,

- developing cooperation with third countries and with competent international organizations, as well as with relevant professional circles,

- making greater use, for the benefit of the whole Community, of the capacities of Commission and Member State staffs in third countries,

- financial monitoring of irregularities.

Article 8

Role of the customs administrations in common policies

In carrying out their mission, the services of the Member States and of the Commission which are responsible for implementing customs rules shall take all the measures necessary for the optimum discharge of the responsibilities which fall upon them by virtue of the provisions applicable for the implementation of common policies, in particular within the framework of the control of the application of the common commercial policy, the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy.

The Community and the Member States shall take special care that customs administrations can intervene efficiently for the purposes of the proper application of other Community provisions affecting the control of the external border, in particular those relating to cooperation for development and to the protection of intellectual property, of the environment, of consumers and of the cultural heritage.

Article 9

Improvements in working methods

The Community shall support actions aimed at improving the working methods of customs administrations. In partnership with the Member States, it shall encourage the further development and application of new working methods, in particular in the following fields:

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 to check undertakings' accounts;

3. simplified procedures for assigning goods to and discharging them from a customs-approved treatment;

4. the harmonized development of the use of computerized handling of customs procedures, taking into account the current state of computerization of national administrations and the interests of the Union's economic operators, as well as relevant developments occurring in the international sphere.

Article 10

Powers of customs officers

The Commission shall, in collaboration with the Member States, carry out an examination of the adequacy of the powers available to the customs officers of the Member States to implement Community law and control the external border.

Article 11

Rational and coordinated use of resources

1. For the purposes of carrying out the provisions of Article 2 (3), the Commission shall set up a Community framework for consultation and coordination in order to ensure that full account is taken of the requirements of the internal market and to enable the needs of Member States and the distribution of resources among them to be defined in the best possible way.

2. Within this Community framework for consultation and coordination, the Commission, in partnership with the Member States, shall identify the means enabling sufficient resources to be allotted to customs action, in particular through the use of any available instruments of Community finance, through the sharing or joint use of equipment, through joint operations and through other arrangements or actions which might prove necessary in order 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.

Article 12

Customs penalties and equivalent measures

The Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States, and with due regard for the principles of Article 5 (4), shall draw up an inventory of irregularities in the customs sector, on the basis of the obligations resulting from the Community Customs Code and from its implementing provisions, as well as a comparative study of their importance and ranking in the legal order of the Member States on the basis of their degree of gravity, in order to identify the minimum needs for harmonization that are necessary to avoid distortions in the treatment of economic operators and to protect effectively the Community's financial interests.

Article 13

Training and technical assistance

1. Within the framework set by Article 2 (5), the training of officials from the customs administrations shall be undertaken by the Member States, in conformity with the rules adopted by the Council in its Decision of 20 June 1991 establishing the Matthaeus programme.

2. In the implementation of this programme, the Member States and the Community shall take the necessary steps to set up a genuine common training policy on matters contained in the Community Customs Code.

Special attention must be paid to the training of new customs officials entering in service in order that common teaching modules relating to the full range of customs rules and procedures may be drawn up and provided. Specific actions must be introduced and incorporated in continuing training so as to provide staff of customs administrations with the level of training necessary to carry out their tasks.

3. This training shall be complemented by actions aimed at opening the customs of the Union to the best working methods and techniques developed in third country customs administrations and more generally by increased cooperation with these countries.

To this end, according to the needs identified and on a reciprocal basis, exchanges of officials with these administrations, as well as training seminars, may be organized, with the Community budget taking responsibility for that share of the cost of these operations relating to officials from the administrations of the Union as well as a contribution, to be determined on a case-by-case basis, to the costs linked to the organization of these seminars.

4. Within the framework of the implementation of Article 2 (6), the Commission shall ensure the coordination of the training and technical assistance and cooperation actions carried out by the Community and the Member States for the benefit of third countries' customs administrations, to ensure the consistency of Community action on training, both external and internal. The Community shall also ensure the implementation of training and technical assistance and cooperation actions for the benefit of third country administrations. In the framework of these actions, the Community shall bear the expenses that arise.

Article 14

Relations with operators engaged in external trade

1. Within the framework of the implementation of Article 2 (7), the Commission shall set up actions, or give support to initiatives taken by the Member States, aimed at improving and strengthening relations between the customs administrations of the Union and operators engaged in foreign trade.

2. These actions may take the form, in particular, of:

- the development, publication and distribution of informative material intended to ensure greater familiarity by operators with customs procedures, and in particular with simplified customs clearance procedures, which aim to strengthen the competitiveness of the Community economy,

- seminars enabling a detailed dialogue to be established between administrative and business circles, in particular on the subjects referred to in Article 2 (1) and (2),

- training activities aimed at ensuring a better knowledge of Community law by the various operators involved in foreign trade.

Article 15

Monitoring, assessment and reports

1. This programme shall be subject to continuous monitoring, carried out in partnership between the Commission and the Member States by means of the Customs Policy expert group (full members and deputies), made up of the Directors-General of Customs of the Commission and of the Member States of the European Union or their representatives.

It shall be pursued by means of the reports referred to in paragraph 3 and by means of specific activities.

2. This programme shall be subject to periodic assessment, carried out in partnership between the Commission and the Member States.

3. Member States shall forward to the Commission, at the latest on 31 December 1997 and at the latest 31 December 2000, reports on the implementation and the impact of the programme.

4. The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council:

- at the latest on 31 December 1998, an interim report on the implementation of this programme,

- at the latest on 30 June 1999, a communication on the desirability of continuing this programme, accompanied, if necessary, by a suitable proposal,

- at the latest on 30 June 2001, a final report on the implementation of this programme.

These reports shall also be forwarded to the Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions.

Article 16

Financing

1. The financing of the actions making up this programme shall be shared between the Community and the Member States.

The total financial provision for carrying out this programme, for the period from 1 January 1996 to 31 December 2000, is set at ECU 139 670 000.

Annual appropriations will be authorized by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspectives.

2. The Member States shall contribute to the accomplishment of the action programme. They shall be responsible for the costs related to the administrative organization and to the coordination of actions linked to the implementation of the programme within their territory, in particular those resulting from Article 4 of this Decision.

The Member States shall take care, in this respect, that the use of the sums retained as the costs of collecting own resources pursuant to Article 2 (3) of Council Decision 88/376/EEC, Euratom of 24 June 1988 (6) take the fullest account of the objectives of this Decision.

Article 17

This Decision shall be applicable as from 1 January 1996.

Article 18

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ No L 40, 17. 2. 1993, p. 1.

(2) COM(94) 29 final, 16. 2. 1994.

(3) Resolution 94/C 179/01 (OJ No C 179, 1. 7. 1994, p. 1).

(4) OJ No L 144, 2. 6. 1981, p. 1.

(5) Decision No 91/341/EEC of 20. 6. 1991 (OJ No L 187, 13. 7. 1994, p. 41).

(6) OJ No L 158, 15. 7. 1988, p. 26.