OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting an action programme for Community customs (Customs 2000)
Date: 1995-09-14
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: action programme, approximation of laws, customs regulations, domestic market, frontier region













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51995AC0964

OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting an action programme for Community customs (Customs 2000)  


Official Journal C 301 , 13/11/1995 P. 0005 





Opinion on the  proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting an action programme for Community  customs (Customs 2000)(95/C 301/03)On 7 June 1995 the Council decided to consult the  Economic and Social Committee, under Article 100a of the Treaty establishing the European  Community, on the above-mentioned proposal. The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for preparing the  Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 12 July 1995. The Rapporteur was Mr   Giesecke. At its 328th Plenary Session (meeting of 14 September 1995), the Economic and Social Committee  adopted the following Opinion unanimously. 1. Introduction1.1. The completion of the European Single Market on 1 January 1993 was a  decisive, forward-looking step in the Community's development. In order to achieve the Single  Market aims defined in Article 7a of the EC Treaty, numerous adjustment procedures were required  from national customs administrations and those using their services. The Commission feels that, to  a considerable extent, these adjustments have been completed. 1.2. The trading area without internal customs frontiers within the 15 Member States requires  uniform customs clearance for equivalent transactions in all places in the customs area; in this,  as many aspects as possible of the associated free trade in goods within the Single Market should  be taken into consideration. The public and the business sector in the Member States - and equally  their counterparts in third countries - should be confident of receiving the same treatment from  the customs authorities in any part of the uniform customs area. 1.3. Community customs legislation, i.e. the Community Customs Code and its implementing  provisions, requires uniform application by the 15 customs administrations in the Member States as  well as by the economic operators. Only by coordinating, standardizing and simplifying customs  procedures can a uniform interpretation of Community customs provisions be achieved. 1.4. The Community has concluded numerous agreements with third countries in order to expand its  international trade relations. In this way, the third countries have become familiar with, or  integrated in, the EC's economic structure. Close technical and administrative cooperation between  the signatories is necessary for implementing the agreements. 1.5. Cooperation with third countries which border on the EC, in particular, can facilitate  free-flowing cross-border goods traffic and uniform implementation of Community legislation by the  customs administrations in the various Member States. 1.6. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to build up an efficient communications  network between the various bodies involved. Business must also have access to these data, so as to  keep it abreast of current legislation. 1.7. As far as possible, the necessary legal provisions should be drawn up by Community bodies,  Member States and the economic interest groups concerned. This would foster an understanding of the  objectives of the other institutions involved. 2. The Commission's action programme2.1. The Commission's action programme set out in COM(95)  119 final is designed to move on to yet another stage, now that the single market has been  completed and the Community expanded to 15 Member States. Effective uniform application of  Community legislation is the key prerequisite for smoothly operating internal and external trade.  In this connection, uniform application of legislation at the Community's external frontiers  assumes particular importance. 2.2. Likewise, cooperation between Member States' customs administrations, the Commission's bodies  and business is to be improved as part of the strategic five-year programme. Basic and further  training for customs officials in individual Member States is to be structured in an efficient,  uniform manner so as to employ resources economically. These measures are to be backed up by the  coordinated development of computerized information and customs clearance systems. 2.3. To create an international environment conducive to the best possible management of the  Community's external border, cooperation between Community customs administrations and third  countries must be consolidated and developed. Community assistance programmes which are already up  and running should therefore be expanded and structured as effectively as possible. This will boost  the effectiveness of the administrations in the Community's partner countries. Efficient partners  will then be able to ensure that trade is carried out in accordance with the agreements and also to  protect the economy from illegal trade activities. 2.4. In order to achieve these objectives, all customs measures must be rendered more transparent.  Continuous monitoring of current measures means that what is actually achieved can be constantly  compared with the objectives of all the parties concerned. 3. Committee's comments3.1. The Committee endorses the aims of the strategic programme. In the  context of the following observations it also welcomes the approach the Commission has adopted in  order to assess the results of the 1994 pilot programme quickly and pragmatically and thus to  tackle the real shortcomings by drafting this action programme. 3.1.1. More specifically, the Committee welcomes: - this type of programme, which provides not only for close partnership between all levels of  administration - from individual customs offices to the Commission's services - but also for the  involvement of the business circles concerned and, consequently, of all participants in European  economic life; - the closest cooperation possible with the customs authorities from third countries with which the  EC has concluded agreements. More particularly, this includes the new countries of central and  eastern Europe and trading partners in the Mediterranean; - the planned monitoring of the programme, which is expected to provide a major impetus for the  further development of uniform customs procedures; - the constant review of Community legislation through the monitoring, bearing in mind the  requirements of international trade set out in Article 6. This secures the necessary further  improvements to existing legislation; - the provision that the reports drafted in the monitoring process be forwarded to the Committee  too. Of particular value will be the inclusion provided for in Article 3(2)a) of complementary  studies reflecting the views of business circles (for example those expressed by chambers of  industry and commerce and regional associations on both sides of the borders); - the call for fluid, uncomplicated customs procedures, using new working methods and more modern  instruments. 3.2. The Committee would like to make a number of comments on the following aspects of the  strategic programme (): Improvement of working methods3.2.1. Information must flow quickly within the administration of  each Member State for laws to be applied in a uniform manner. Information sent from Community  bodies to the Member States must be passed on using standard procedures from the national  ministries concerned to their subordinate services. Only in this way can customs officials in, say,  Greece, Germany and Sweden, but also at airports, receive the same information at the same time and  take these new provisions immediately into account in equivalent customs clearance procedures. 3.2.2. This information flow can only be achieved by building up a modern, Europe-wide customs  administration infrastructure. In the first place, this means all customs offices in one Member  State must be interlinked by computer. In choosing the system, compatibility with other Member  States' systems and those used by the economic operators concerned must be sought from the outset.  The Committee considers it absolutely essential for the systems interface to be defined using the  UNEDIFACT standard (EC-wide customs communication network). 3.2.3. One of the key requirements of the European business community is for computerized customs  clearance procedures to be introduced in a coordinated way, as described above. Currently, all EC  Member States are attempting to set up computerized systems and liaise with the business sector in  their countries. However, 15 different solutions should not emerge from this approach. Customs  union and the drive for uniform application of customs law (customs code and implementing  provisions) and related legislation (e.g. on foreign trade, the origin of goods, the protection of  intellectual property rights) throughout the Community urgently require Europe-wide customs  communications. 3.2.4. Moreover, the Committee feels that computerized information flows will rapidly overtake  printed information in practical importance. This development alone should boost the drive to apply  such systems on a more widespread basis. 3.2.5. The computerization of cross-frontier communications can, for example, enable the customs  office of departure to pass on information about transit arrangements to the customs office of  destination in another Member State. In this way, recent cases of fraud relating to consignments  attracting high tax could have been considerably reduced in number (). 3.2.6. Another aim of this highly cost-intensive effort by Member States must be to ensure that,  for example, a customs agent from Italy using a uniform EC computerized procedure can issue a  customs declaration in France or Portugal. 3.2.7. So as to maximize European customs administrations' limited resources, in addition to  existing possibilities for simplified customs clearance, a procedure should be developed whereby  non-Community goods on import at external borders are physically checked only once and undergo  customs clearance only once. This information should then be stored in a databank (see 3.2.8) and  could then be retrieved for any further customs requirements. Apart from a few necessary exceptions  the subsequent use of these goods once they had entered Community territory would then be subject  only to accounting checks. A mirror-image of this procedure should also be set up for processing  exports. For both procedures, EC-wide communications need to be improved. 3.2.8. Each Member State sends in the information needed for customs procedures to a central point  where it can be accessed. If necessary, data can also be processed at EC level in a central  computer at the Commission (). 3.2.9. Equipping customs administrations with modern computerized systems also makes communication  between the economic operators concerned possible. This can lead to a situation where movements of  goods and customs declarations are checked mainly by accounting procedures. Physical controls can  be used only when absolutely necessary; the flow of goods will thus speed up. 3.2.10. Obligatory customs tariff information, because it applies throughout the Community, should  be available to all, and not just to certain, customs offices and, as far as possible, to the  business communities concerned. This would make customs tariff matters considerably more  transparent. 3.2.11. Communications networks can also be used in monitoring movements of people and are  beneficial in the extension of the Schengen Agreement. 3.2.12. To secure a uniform application of customs legislation, uniform principles also have to be  applied in carrying out audits on firms. This is a prerequisite for equal treatment of economic  operators in the various Member States. 3.2.13. Even modern procedures for controlling the cross-border flow of goods will not be able to  dispense entirely with physical checks. These should be conducted only once and should, as far as  possible, be limited to sensitive product categories. They should always be carried out at places  where the customs administrations concerned have specialist staff and the necessary resources at  their disposal. In addition, controls conducted pursuant to customs law must be limited to purely  accounting measures. 3.2.14. Closer cooperation with the Member States' financial authorities and customs investigation  services is essential in order to combat effectively the growing number of cases of fraud. The  fight against crime must not start at the border. 3.2.15. The Committee feels that completion of the European Single Market requires speedy,  comprehensive expansion of cross-border cooperation between national customs investigation services  within the EU and that this should also proceed progressively with the equivalent services of our  principal trading partners. The closer and smoother the cooperation the greater its effectiveness  and deterrent effect. 3.2.16. In the medium term, it would be useful to establish a European Community customs  investigation service (EUROCUSTOMS similar to EUROPOL). 3.3. Gearing training to the needs of a modern European customs administration3.3.1. There is an  undeniable need for 'a common core of training' in customs law and procedure for customs officials  in the Member States. Besides respecting the subsidiarity principle, this should take account of  the different careers open to customs officials and corresponding training courses. 3.3.2. Comparable careers must be based on comparable training programmes. In the interests of this  objective the exchange of trainees is necessary, for certain careers at least. 3.3.3. Further development of the common training policy established by the Matthaeus programme  would seem essential. Only with a knowledge of other Member States' procedures can the mutual  understanding required to surmount any difficulties be built up. 3.3.4. This cannot be achieved solely by the exchange of qualified officials; national customs  trainees must also be familiarized with the practices of other Member States as part of their  training. To this end, instructors and lecturers should also be included in an EC-wide exchange  programme (). 3.3.5. In conjunction with improved training, the working conditions in customs offices should be  brought into line with the new level of duties (). 3.3.6. The Committee stresses the importance of basic and continuous training for customs  employees, but would alert the Commission to the particularly difficult situation of customs  officials who have been made redundant and who should also be able to benefit from measures to  facilitate career development and retraining. 3.4. Creation of an international environment conducive to the best possible management of the  external border3.4.1. Openness in the application of Community customs law and, in particular, the  identification of difficulties in the application of the Community provisions are considerably  influenced by the actions of the customs administrations of neighbouring third countries. The  difficulties which arise vary according to the particular external border, e.g. those at the  Community's external borders with the central and eastern European countries are certainly of a  different nature from those at the external border between Greece and Turkey or an international  airport. 3.4.2. This should prompt the Member States to pinpoint the specific difficulties and jointly seek  workable EC-wide solutions with other customs administrations. If necessary the Commission can help  to ensure that customs law is applied uniformly at all the Community's external borders. 3.4.3. This cooperation should take place at local level between the customs officials directly  concerned, but must also be encouraged at higher levels. An exchange of customs officials,  Community assistance in the form of training measures and technical back-up will help to ensure  that trade flows smoothly at common borders. 3.4.4. The action programme should, however, also embrace third countries with which the Community  has concluded trade agreements () and is a major trading partner. The uniform application of the  Treaty provisions and hence the submission of the necessary documentation when goods cross  frontiers are preconditions for the proper functioning of these agreements. 3.4.5. For this reason, the Community measures under the Phare and Tacis programmes are to be  welcomed, but should be extended to ensure that foreign customs officials, after training in the  application of the legislation, are given further training to help them put their knowledge into  practice. 3.4.6. To reduce problems at the Community's external borders, leaflets in the national language of  the neighbouring third country could help to inform its exporters and shippers about customs  requirements ('European Customs Guide'). 3.5. Improved information and communication links with business and professional circles3.5.1.  Information and communication links between administration and business must be improved at all  levels. Prompt and detailed information to economic operators on pending new or amended European  customs legislation and other relevant legal provisions is essential to enable them to prepare for  the new circumstances and make the necessary arrangements in good time. 3.5.2. The active involvement of business and professional circles - firms, associations,  Consultative Customs Committee, ESC - in the official decision-making process also encourages  mutual understanding and prevents unnecessary difficulties in implementation. 3.5.3. As a rule, business fully supports the tasks of the customs administration as they are  clearly justified. Hence a policy of providing detailed information on the part of the  administration will help to foster understanding and facilitate procedures for all concerned. 3.5.4. The customs administrations, one of whose tasks is to stimulate the economy, should always  try to regulate only as much as is necessary for the performance of their duties. 3.6. Monitoring the joint actions3.6.1. In the Committee's view, the measures carried out under  the five-year action programme should be reviewed every 18 months. This will provide three opportunities in the course of the programme for any adjustments or  amendments which need to be made to current measures. 3.6.2. The proposed body of experts intended to carry out the review should, if possible, also  include the business circles concerned. Only in this way can the interests of administration and  business be assessed comprehensively in the light of the objectives. 3.7. Concluding comments on the Committee's proposals3.7.1. The uniform application of legislation  at all the Community's external and internal borders requires coordination of procedural detail,  the introduction of modern national and EC-wide communications systems and, in particular, a  uniform approach on the part of the 15 European customs administrations to the approval of  simplified customs procedures. The European Commission and business should also be involved in this  process. 3.7.2. In the medium term, it will be essential to introduce a simplified EC-wide customs procedure  which can be applied at all stages of the procedure in every Member State. Done at Brussels, 13 September 1995. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER() The  proposals follow the order of the Commission's document.  () In the Commission's document COM(95) 108 final of 29.  3.  1995 the financial losses incurred by  the Community and Member States as a result of serious cases of fraud in transit procedures are  estimated at MECU 750.  () Such demands have already been set out in a variety of studies. In order to introduce such a  system, however, a change of thinking is required in individual customs administrations. The  details of data processing and data transfer need to be defined clearly, especially in accordance  with monetary criteria.  () The exchange of trainees between the Member States is to be welcomed too. Costs should be kept  to a minimum; measures should be based on reciprocity and utilize existing accommodation, e.g. in  training centres. The aims of getting to know the problems of other Member States and encouraging  language learning must be to the fore.  () This includes: the creation of an appropriate working environment for customs officials; access  to all necessary information (computerized if possible); availability of the necessary technical  equipment for inspection of specific products.  () Central and eastern European countries, countries of the former Soviet Union and Mediterranean  countries.