REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Midterm evaluation of the Customs 2013 programme
Date: 2011-09-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, cost-benefit analysis, customs cooperation, customs inspection, customs territory (EU), exchange of information, project evaluation

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 5.9.2011 
COM(2011) 537 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Midterm evaluation of the Customs 2013 programme 

 
 
 
 
  
 
1. 

CONTEXT 

The  Customs  2013  programme  was  established by Decision 624/2007/EC1  as  a  multiannual 
action  programme  for  customs  in  the  Community  to  support  and  complement  action 
undertaken by Member States in ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market in 
the  customs  field.  It  builds  upon  four  previous  programmes  (Matthaeus,  Customs  2000, 
Customs 2002 and Customs 2007). 

The primary beneficiaries of the programme are the customs administrations of the Member 
States;  further  beneficiaries  are  other  participating  countries’  administrations  and  traders. 
Currently,  the  programme  is  open  to  EU  Member  States,  candidate  countries  and  potential 
candidates, and countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy. In addition to 27 
EU Member States, four other countries take part in the programme: Turkey and Croatia (both 
joined  the  previous  programme),  Serbia  and  the  Former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia 
(which  joined  the  current  programme  in  2009).  The  current  programme  covers  the  period 
from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2013.  

To achieve its objectives, the programme relies primarily on: 

• 

• 

Joint Actions, including seminars and workshops, project groups and steering groups, 
working  visits,  training  activities,  monitoring  actions,  benchmarking  and  other 
actions. 

Provision  of  IT  systems,  including  trans-European  systems  and  common  customs 
applications. 

Under Article 22 (1) of the Customs 2013 Decision, the programme is subject to a midterm 
evaluation carried out by the Commission based on input from the Member States. In order to 
ensure consistent methodology and coherent approach, this evaluation was contracted out to 
an  external  consultant  with  specific  expertise  in  carrying  out  evaluations,  “The  Evaluation 
Partnership”. Commission services and participating countries have guided and supported this 
external  contractor  through  a  steering  group  which  met  repeatedly  throughout  the  course  of 
the project. 

This report adopted by the Commission meets the obligation to communicate the results of the 
midterm  evaluation  to  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Economic  and 
Social  Committee,  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions.  The  final  evaluation  report  by  the 
external consultant is available for download at the Europa website of DG TAXUD. 

2. 

THE PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION 

The  midterm  evaluation  assessed  the  impact  of  activities  carried  out  under  the  programme 
from 2008 until March 2011. It examined the progress made so far in the programming period 
and the extent to which the objectives of the programme were achieved (the effectiveness of 
the programme) at a reasonable cost (the programme’s  efficiency). It also analysed whether 
the objectives correspond to the needs in the customs area (assessing the relevance) and the 

1 

Decision No 624/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 May 2007 establishing 
an action programme for customs in the Community (Customs 2013). 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
extent  to  which  the  programme  provides  EU  added  value,  i.e.  whether  the  programme’s 
objectives can be better achieved through a Community programme than by Member States. 
In addition, it assessed the use of funding and the progress of follow-up and implementation 
in particular regarding the management of the programme. 

The objective of this midterm evaluation is to evaluate both the desirability of continuing the 
programme, and whether adjustments to the programme for the remaining years in terms of 
activity  planning  may  be  required.  The  results  of  the  evaluation  will  also  feed  into  the 
ongoing  impact  assessment  on  the  future  Customs  2020  programme2.  However,  the 
conclusions drawn in this communication are without prejudice to the future decisions that the 
Commission may take in that context. 

3. 

METHODOLOGY 

The  external  consultants  worked  with  a  detailed  methodology  and  based  their  answers  on 
thorough analysis and findings stemming from several data collection methods, as shown in 
the  table  below  (interviews,  surveys,  quantitative  data  collection  tools,  etc.).  The  data  was 
analysed using a comprehensive set of evaluation and judgment criteria which was developed 
with  the  assistance  of  the  Steering  Group  for  the  evaluation  project3.  The  validity  of  the 
findings  was  again  discussed  in  meetings  with  the  Steering  Group.  Overall,  the  evaluation 
benefitted from high response rates to the surveys distributed among customs officials in the 
Member States and the active cooperation of the national Customs 2013 coordinators. 

Table — Data sources for main evaluation questions 

Tools 

EQ 

Effectiveness 

Management 

Efficiency 

Relevance 

EU added value 

Questionnaire for 
national customs 
administrations 

Survey of action 
participants  

Interviews with 
programme 
managers 

Case studies 

Desk research 

(cid:57) 

((cid:57)) 

((cid:57)) 

(cid:57) 

(cid:57) 

(cid:57) 

((cid:57)) 

((cid:57)) 

((cid:57)) 

((cid:57)) 

((cid:57)) 

(cid:57) 

((cid:57)) 

(cid:57) 

(cid:57) 

((cid:57)) 

((cid:57)) 

((cid:57)) 

((cid:57)) 

(cid:57) 

(cid:57) 

(cid:57) 

Brackets indicate that the evidence gathered through this collection method is only partially relevant to answer the evaluation 
questions in the related category. 

4. 

ASSESSMENT 

The  external  consultant  submitted  a  final  evaluation  report  that  presents  a  systematic  and 
comprehensive  overview  of  the  Customs  programme.  A  detailed  summary  of  the  activities 
and  actions  carried  out  since  2008  provides  a  sound  foundation  for  the  findings  and 
conclusions,  which  show  a  noticeably  high  satisfaction  level  among  stakeholders  and 
beneficiaries. 

2 

3 

Communication  from  the  Commission.  A  Budget  for  Europe  2020  -  Part  II  -  Policy  Fiches,  COM 
(2011) 500/II of 29 June 2011. 
The  Steering  Group  consisted  of  Commission  officials  and  participants  from  the  national  customs 
administrations. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Findings 

The evaluation shows that the programme is closely aligned with the needs and problems of 
the beneficiaries. The findings reported by the external consultants prove that the programme 
is  a  good  vehicle  for  support  with  the  implementation  of  customs  policy.  In  addition,  the 
evaluation  provides  strong  and  clear  evidence  that  the  programme’s  outputs  achieved  the 
desired  effects.  The  programme’s  generally  high  efficiency  and  effectiveness  is  also  partly 
explained by its professional management which has been evaluated as very positive.  

The evaluation also shows that activities financed by Customs 2013 helped to harmonise the 
working methods of national customs administrations. In addition, the flexibility built into the 
programme has been highlighted as a positive aspect of its implementation. For example, this 
allowed  project  groups  to  draw  on  the  experience  of  national  customs  administrations  to 
address  particular  problems  and  develop  solutions.  The  report  also  concluded  that  the 
programme provides significant EU added value. 

The  Commission  acknowledges  the  very  positive  assessment  of  the  programme  by  all 
stakeholders. The programme manages to reach the objectives set for it by providing national 
customs  administrations  with  a  platform  for  collaboration,  additional  tools,  common  or 
interoperable  IT  systems,  common  training,  and  opportunities  for  coordination.  This 
demonstrates  clearly  the  EU  added  value  of  the  programme.  National  administrators  in  the 
customs  area  expressed  remarkably  high  levels  of  appreciation  of  Customs  2013.  The 
Commission thus concludes that continuing the programme is generally desirable. 

Recommendations for the remaining programming period 

The  recommendations  for  further  improvements  are  based  on  a  thorough  methodology, 
extensive research and analysis of survey data and direct interviews with all stakeholders. The 
detailed  recommendations  are  presented  in  the  evaluation.  The  main  suggestions  for  even 
greater success in the remaining years until 2013 are the following: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

Address external issues which slow down the progress of trade facilitation. 

Support  full  implementation  of  the  Modernised  Customs  Code  Implementing 
Provisions  (MCCIP)  and  risk  management  and  the  uniform  application  of  key  new 
rules, processes, and concepts. 

Communicate the results of project groups developing and implementing the Future 
Customs Initiative to a wider audience. 

Establish  mechanisms  to  assist  customs  authorities  in  preventing,  investigating  and 
fighting illegal operations. 

Carefully  consider  human  resources  implications  of  new  Customs  2013  activities, 
and  avoid  increasing  the  overall  burden  on  Member  States  and  European 
Commission staff in the present economic climate. 

Encourage  participation  of  trade  associations  in  Customs  2013  activities,  wherever 
relevant  and  appropriate,  and  ensure  transparency  in  selecting  and  inviting 
representatives of individual companies to participate in joint actions. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

Closely monitor the uptake of common training tools and provide additional support, 
if necessary. 

Expand  support  to  candidate  countries  and  potential  candidates  (including  non-
participating countries). 

Address  external  issues  that  limit  the  effectiveness  of  trans-European  and  common 
customs IT systems. 

(10) 

Improve the proceedings of and interactions between some of Customs 2013 bodies. 

(11) 

Improve  the  way  ART24  reflects  the  links  between  activities  and  Customs  2013 
objectives / priorities. 

The Commission generally endorses the recommendations. As a follow up to the project, the 
Commission  will  draw  up  an  action  plan  that  will  respond  to  each  of  the  recommendations 
outlined in the evaluation report and clarify the extent to which they can be implemented for 
the remaining years of activity planning. 

For example, the Commission is aware of the importance attached to the full implementation 
of the Modernised Customs Code Implementing Provisions (MCCIP). Work is progressing in 
this area through the current programme and this progress will be reinforced under the future 
programme.  The  human  resource  implications  of  Customs  2013  activities  will  be  duly 
reflected upon and this recommendation will feed into the design of the successor programme 
which will aim to introduce more structured and efficient ways of cooperation. 

Likewise, the Commission also aims to monitor the uptake of common training tools, already 
under the current programme and this will also be taken into close consideration in the impact 
assessment for the future programme. The Commission will also examine the Customs 2013 
governance scheme and the functioning of the Committee and Steering Groups. It agrees with 
the suggestion by the consultants that improvements are possible.  

4 

The second version of the Activity Reporting Tool launched through Customs 2013. 

EN 

5 

   EN