EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/515

(2004/C 88 E/0527)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0609/04

by Ulrich Stockmann (PSE) to the Commission

(1 March 2004)

Subject: Customs and enlargement

Following enlargement on 1 May 2004 and the ensuing expansion of the European Single Market there will be far less demand for the services provided by customs clearance agents

Transitional periods for the implementation of the Community ‘acquis’ have been agreed for many policy areas. Does this also apply to customs, customs clearance and customs services? With which countries have transitional agreements been made, and what are the precise terms of these agreements? What changes will customs clearance agents face from 1 May 2004?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(15 April 2004)

From the first day of accession, the customs administration of the new Member States acceding to the Union will have to manage and control their borders, which will then be the external borders of the EU, in the interest of the EU population and trade operators.

Two transitional periods have been granted in the Customs Union Chapter. Both concern the application of the Common External Tariff after accession.

Malta has been granted a five-year transitional period for the import of woven fabrics of combed wool or of combed fine animal hair (CN Code 5112 11 10), denim (CN Code 5209 42 00), woven fabrics of artificial filament yarn (CN Code 5408 22 10) and other made up clothing accessories (CN Code 6217 10 00), with a progressive schedule of implementation involving a maximum annual import quota and an increasing ad valorem duty.

Hungary has been granted a three-year transitional period for the import of aluminium, not alloyed (CN Code 7601 10 00), with a progressive schedule of implementation involving a decreasing import quota and an increasing ad valorem duty.

No transitional period has been granted on the remaining part of the customs ‘acquis’, which includes the Community's Customs Code and its implementing provisions; the Combined Nomenclature and other customs-related legislation outside the scope of the customs code, such as, for example, the legislation on counterfeit and pirated goods, drug precursors and export of cultural goods. However, annex IV-5 of the Act of Accession contains some specific technical provisions to cope with the situations that result from the transition between 11 separate customs territories (EU15 + 10) and one enlarged customs territory (EU25), when goods may, for example, enter a procedure in one and leave it under the other, purely as a result of enlargement. The Annex also deals with the validity of authorisations. Some special provisions apply to the Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom in Cyprus, and are contained in Protocol 3 annexed to the Treaty of Accession.

The result of negotiations implies that the new Member States will be integrated in the Community customs territory and will fully apply all customs procedures as currently applied by Member States. Trade with and among new Member States will be considered as intra-Community transactions, and will not be subject to customs formalities or control, as is already the case in the Single Market. Goods which are in free circulation in a new or an existing Member State at the moment of accession will be in free circulation throughout the enlarged Union. This will have a twofold impact on the activities of the customs clearance agents: on the one hand, the formalities and procedures will be the same in all 25 Member States, and on the other hand, their services will not be needed for the new intra-Community trade.

An information document on the transitional customs measures of the Act of Accession as described above is available to the public on the Directorate-General Taxation and Customs Union web site in Europa (http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/customs/customs.htm).