Mid-term evaluation of the Customs 2020 programme : executive summary.
Date: 2019-02-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union
Subjects: EU Member State, EU programme, action programme, customs, customs cooperation, customs regulations, customs union, exchange of information

MID-TERM EVALUATION OF 
THE CUSTOMS 2020 
PROGRAMME 

Executive summary 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
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PREPARED BY: 

Submitted in January 2019. Specific Contract No 6 under Framework Service Contract TAXUD/2015/CC/132 

FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
European Commission, B-1049 Brussels 
Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union 
Directorate D — Direct taxation, tax coordination, economic analysis and evaluation 
Unit D.4 — Economic analysis, evaluation and impact assessment support  
E-mail: TAXUD-EVAL-IA@ec.europa.eu  

LEGAL NOTICE 
The  information  and views  set  out  in  this  report  are  those  of  the  author(s)  and  do  not necessarily reflect  the 
official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this 
study. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for 
the use which may be made of the information contained therein.  

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://www.europa.eu). 
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2019 

ISBN: 978-92-79-85419-4 
doi: 10.2778/253715 

© European Union, 2019 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Executive summary 

The programme 

The Customs 2020 programme, governed by Regulation (EU) No 1294/20131, is the EU’s 
on-going  cooperation  programme  in  the  field  of  customs.  It  runs  from  1  January 
2014 until 31 December 2020 and enables national customs administrations to cooperate 
and  exchange  information  and  expertise. Ultimately,  it  aims  to  support  the  functioning 
and  modernisation  of  the  Customs  Union  (particularly  regarding  implementation  of  the 
Union Customs Code), and thereby to strengthen the  single market. There are currently 
34  countries  that  participate  in  the  programme  (the  28  EU  Member  States  and  six 
candidate and potential candidate countries). The programme has a budget of about EUR 
523  million  for  the  2014-2020  period  and  supports  three  types  of  eligible  activities  to 
achieve these aims, namely:  

(a) Joint  actions  (12.8%  of  funding  so  far):  meetings  of  customs  officials  and 
other stakeholders in various formats to enhance the exchange of knowledge and 
experiences  between  customs  authorities  and  officials  of  the  participating 
countries; 

(b) Customs  European  Information  Systems  (84.6%  of  funding  so  far):  IT 
systems to facilitate the exchange of information and access to common data; and 

(c) Common  training  activities  (2.6%  of  funding  so  far):  eLearning  modules 
and  other  training  to  support  the  necessary  professional  skills  and  knowledge 
relating to customs. 

National  customs  administrations  are  the  programme’s  main  beneficiaries. 
Economic  operators  benefit  from  the  programme  mostly  indirectly  thanks  to  more 
efficient  customs  procedures,  but  can  also  participate  in  the  joint  actions  and  routinely 
use some of the Customs European Information Systems supported by the programme. 

The  Commission  manages  Customs  2020  centrally,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Customs 2020 Committee, composed of delegates from each Member State. Programme 
coordinators in each country help manage the involvement of their officials and carry out 
other  organisational 
functions.  Annual  Work  Programmes  define  priorities  and 
implementing  measures  for  each  year,  as  well  as  thematically  linked  sets  of  activities 
called ‘projects’. 

The evaluation  

The mid-term evaluation of the programme was carried out in 2017-2018. As defined in 
the  Regulation,  the  purpose  of  the  evaluation  was  to  assess  the  programme’s 
performance  so  far  in  terms  of  its  relevance,  effectiveness,  efficiency,  coherence  and 
EU added value, and to make recommendations for future improvement. In this way, 
the evaluation served both accountability and learning purposes.  

The breadth of the programme’s activities posed an important methodological challenge, 
in that it would not have been possible, within the available resources and timeframe, to 
cover all activities in the detail needed to draw robust conclusions. Moreover, as much of 
the  programme’s  support  plays  a  contributing  role  alongside  other  factors  (such  as  the 
actions  of  national  administrations),  it  is  difficult  to  assess  without  in-depth  qualitative 

1

  Regulation  (EU)  No  1294/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  December  2013 
establishing an action programme for customs in the European Union for the period 2014-2020 (Customs 2020) 
and repealing Decision No 624/2007/EC (Customs 2013).   

3 

 
 
                                                 
research.  For  these  reasons,  the  evaluation  was  split  into  three  complementary 
elements:  

  A  programme  assessment  that  covered  the  entire  programme  to  the  extent 
possible, based on an in-depth review of monitoring data (which covered financial, 
implementation  and  performance  aspects)  and  other  documentary  sources, 
written  questionnaires  for  national  customs  authorities  and  interviews  with 
managers  and  users  of  the  programme  from  the  Commission  and  national 
administrations.  

  Thematic case studies that examined in much more detail seven of the projects 
defined  as  priority  areas  in  the  Annual  Work  Programmes.  These  helped  the 
evaluation  understand  whether  and  how  Customs  2020  is  contributing  to 
increased collaboration, the work of national administrations and the development 
and  implementation  of  new  processes,  procedures  and  policies.  The  case  studies 
were  based  mainly  on  interviews  in  seven  participating  countries  with  customs 
and other officials, in addition to a review of relevant documentation and scoping 
interviews  with  DG  TAXUD.  The  fieldwork  sample  included  Austria,  the  Czech 
Republic, Estonia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia and Sweden. 

  A  survey  of  economic  operators  that  sought  to  gather,  among  other  things, 
their views as users of the publicly available IT systems and eLearning modules.  

Overall  the  evaluation  was  able  to  collect  extensive  and  meaningful  data  that  allow  for 
confidence  in  the  results.  However,  it  also  encountered  some  challenges.  These  were 
mitigated to the extent possible, with remaining limitations given due consideration.  

Key findings and conclusions 

Relevance  

At  root,  relevance  refers  to  the  need  for  an  initiative.  The  evaluation  explored  this  in 
terms  of  the  needs  of  national  customs  administrations,  economic  operators  and 
European citizens. 

At a general level, the findings validate the relevance of the Customs 2020 specific 
objective2 by identifying clear needs for the  secure and rapid exchange of information, 
cooperation  between  customs  administrations  and  enhancement  of  administrative 
capacity.  These  needs  stem  from  the  growing  scope  of  EU  customs  law,  cross-border 
issues related to customs, e.g. once goods are cleared for free circulation in one Member 
State they can move without checks throughout the EU, and need for more convergence 
between countries in line with the provisions of the Union Customs Code. There has been 
universal agreement among stakeholders that the programme is needed to facilitate this 
exchange  and  cooperation,  and  that  ambitious  policies  would  be  difficult  to  agree  or 
implement without such support. Thus, the programme’s role in fostering convergence of 
approaches, administrative procedures and application of rules is highly relevant. 

The  programme  successfully  addresses  also  the  perceived  direct  needs  of  national 
administrations  in  participating  countries.  In  particular,  networking  and  exchange  of 
ideas  are  seen  as  important  aspects  of  all  programme  activities.  The  need  for  and 
relevance of the Customs European Information Systems is self-evident, as they in many 
cases  define  the  possibility  for  the  exchange  of  information  required  by  EU  law. 

2

  The  specific  objective  of  the  Customs  2020  programme  is  related  to  protecting  the  financial  and  economic 
interests of the Union (including combating fraud and protecting intellectual property rights), increasing safety 
and  security,  protecting  citizens  and  environment,  improving  the  administrative  capacity  of  customs 
administrations, and strengthening competitiveness of businesses.  

4 

 
 
                                                 
 
Supporting  activities  like  training  sessions  on  IT  are  also  universally  appreciated. 
Demand  among  participating  countries  for  the  eLearning  modules  is  also  high,  in 
particular  to  support  the  uniform  application  of  EU  law,  most  importantly  the  Union 
Customs Code. 

Regarding  economic  operators,  the  aims  and  activities  of  the  programme  are 
consistent  with  needs  to  minimise  administrative  burdens  and  maximise  legal  certainty. 
Much  of  this  is  indirect,  since  making  national  customs  administrations  work  and  share 
information  better  benefit  economic  operators  in  the  form  of  more  efficient  customs 
processes. Similarly, the eLearning modules support a harmonised application of EU law. 
More  directly  (as  explained  in  more  detail  under  effectiveness  below),  economic 
operators  can  use  certain  Customs  Information  Systems  as  part  of  simplified  and 
standardised  customs  procedures,  take  part  in  some  joint  actions  and  participate  in 
certain eLearning modules.  

Although  the  programme  does  not  involve  European  citizens  directly,  it  addresses 
issues  related  to  safety  and  security  and  trade  facilitation  that  are  important  to  them, 
such as fighting smuggling and fraud and protecting citizens from security threats.  

Effectiveness  

Effectiveness  in  evaluation  terms  considers  the  performance  of  an  intervention in terms 
of  its  objectives  and  the  factors  that  play  a  role  in  that.  For  the  Customs  2020 
programme, we examined effectiveness from three perspectives. Firstly, we assessed the 
ability of programme activities to reinforce cooperation and information-sharing between 
customs  authorities.  Secondly,  we  considered  the  involvement  and  participation  of 
economic  operators  in  the  programme.  Thirdly,  we  analysed  the  programme’s 
contribution  to  its  overall  objective,  which  is  to  protect  the  financial  and  economic 
interests  of  the  Union  (including  combating  fraud  and  protecting  intellectual  property 
rights),  increase  safety  and  security,  protect  citizens  and  the  environment,  improve  the 
administrative  capacity  of  customs  administrations,  and  strengthen  the  competitiveness 
of businesses.  

By  providing  a  framework  and  the  technological  means  needed  to  work  together,  the 
Customs  2020  programme  has  played  an  important  role  in  reinforcing 
cooperation between customs authorities. The different types of joint actions have met 
participants’  expectations  and  achieved  their  intended  results.  In  particular,  they  have 
helped administrations to identify, disseminate and implement best practices, leading in 
turn to the practical uptake  of  working methods in customs administrations and a more 
harmonised approach to the application of EU customs law.  

Customs  European  Information  Systems  help  Member  States  to  communicate 
with  each  other  securely  and  efficiently  and  increase  collaboration.  More 
specifically,  the  IT  architecture,  namely  the  Common  Communication  Network/Common 
Systems Interface (CCN/CSI), was found to be an essential  platform for secure customs 
information-  and  data-sharing.  The  central  systems  managed  and  operated  by  the 
Commission3  were  considered  similarly  useful  by  national  customs  administrations. 
Having  been  in  operation  for  a  long  time,  these  IT  systems  underpin  core  customs 
functions  such  as  goods  classification  and  tariff  management.  Views  were  also  very 
positive  about  most  of  the  systems  for  EU  movement  control,  such  as  the  New 
Computerised Transit System NCTS and Export Control System ECTS.4 Other systems are 

3  The  centrally  operated  systems  include  the  TARIC  database  for  integrated  Tariff  in  the  European  Union,  the 
EBTI-3 data base for European Binding Tariff Information, the EORI system for Economic Operators Registration 
and  Identification  Number,  the  Customs  Risk  Management  System  CRMS  or  the  COPIS  system  for  anti-
Counterfeit and anti-Piracy Information. 
4
 While opinions were mixed on the Import Control System ICS, it should be noted that this system is outdated. 
Intensive  work  is  taking  place  on  a  successor  system  (ICS2),  which  will  be  launched  during  the  next 
programming period.  

5 

 
 
                                                 
aimed  at  a  more  limited  audience  but  are  deemed  indispensable  to  the  specialised 
customs departments who use them5.  

Although the proportion of the programme budget dedicated to training is small, it has an 
important  and  unique  role,  complementing  the  joint  actions  and  IT  systems.  In 
particular,  national  customs  administrations  saw  value  in  the  way  training  helps 
administrations to use given Customs European Information Systems. The eLearning also 
helps  officials  to  apply  EU  customs  law  more  uniformly,  by  teaching  about  legal 
provisions  and  terminology  in  a  harmonised  way.  The  training  also  provides  individual 
benefits such as increased knowledge and understanding.  

Economic operators benefit indirectly but significantly as participants in some joint 
actions, where their input can help ensure that their views are taken into account for new 
initiatives.  They  are  also  users  of  eLearning  modules,  mostly  the  Union  Customs  Code 
courses.  These  were  downloaded  from  the  EUROPA  site  over  11  800  times  in  2017, 
showing a high level of use.  

Still, the main benefits for  economic operators  come  from the use  of  IT systems, which 
were  praised  for  helping  them  to  reduce  some  administrative  burdens  and  simplifying 
procedures.  In  particular,  economic  operators  benefit  from  IT  databases  that  provide 
various  types  of  information  not  available  elsewhere,  including  the  EU  Customs  Tariff 
(TARIC) database and the European Binding Tariff Information (EBTI) database.   

With regard to the achievement of the programme’s higher-level objectives, the evidence 
confirmed  adequate  progress  in  relation  to  different  aspects  of  the  specific 
objective. Programme actions have been most effective in contributing to protecting the 
financial  and  economic  interests  of  the  Union  and  of  the  Member  States,  including 
combating  fraud,  protecting  intellectual  property  rights  and  ensuring  fair  trade  and  the 
proper  functioning  of  preferential  arrangements.  Supported  activities  were  successful  at 
standardising,  facilitating  and  simplifying  processes  and  procedures,  pooling  expertise, 
speeding  up  exchange  of  vital  customs  risk-related  information  and  ensuring  respect  of 
the  EU  rules.  These  achievements  in  turn  contributed  to  better  customs  risk 
management, improved safety and security and the better protection of citizens and the 
environment.  

Programme  actions  have  also  succeeded  in  improving  the  administrative  capacity  of 
customs  authorities,  in  particular  in  relation  to  the  preparation  and  facilitation  for  the 
formal  adoption  of  the  Union  Customs  Code  (including  the  identification  of  training 
needs) and supporting the work of European Customs Laboratories.  

There  are  some  areas  where  the  programme’s  contribution  has  been  less  evident.  For 
example,  efforts  to  implement  the  EU  Competency  Framework  for  Customs6  have  met 
with problems in getting  buy-in from senior leadership in customs administrations  when 
the  framework  was  launched,  and  limited  resources  to  put  the  framework  in  place  and 
adjust  it  to  national  contexts.  Activities  and  priorities  aimed  at  strengthening  the 
competitiveness  of  European  businesses  have  also  met  with  difficulties.  This  has  been 
partly the consequence of internal delays in specific projects (e.g. in the area of Customs 
Union  Performance  Measurement).  However,  external  challenges,  such  as  the  lack  of 
support  from  national  customs  administrations  and  economic  operators,  also  held  back 

5

  Examples  include  the  NCTS-TIR-Russia,  European  Customs  Inventory  of  Chemical  Substances  ECICS  or 

Suspensions or Customer Reference System CRS. 
6 The EU Customs Competency Framework was developed by DG TAXUD in collaboration with public and private 
experts from EU Member States, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and other international sources. The 
framework, which was finalised in 2014, is composed of a set of methodologies and tools to map and adapt EU 
Customs  competencies  and  role  descriptions  for  national  administrations  and  businesses  with  different 
organisational and structural customs realities.  

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programme actions in the areas of simplified procedures, authorised economic operators 
and international co-operation. 

Efficiency  

Efficiency was assessed in terms of how the programme is structured, its operations and 
management. The evaluation also considered whether the costs are proportionate to the 
benefits  that  the  programme  has  provided  to  customs  administrations  and  the  Customs 
Union.  Regarding  the  programme’s  structure,  the  Customs  2020  programme  strikes  a 
good  balance  between  the  extent  of  consultation  with  national  administrations  for  the 
programme  implementation  and  a  centralised  management  that  coordinates  the 
implementation  of  the  Annual  Work  Programmes.  The  involvement  of  national 
administrations  in  the  setting  of  priorities  and  the  decision-making  process  is 
instrumental  to  the  functioning  of  the  programme,  as  it  enhances  the  feeling  of 
ownership  among  participating  countries.  For  the  current  period,  new  features  have 
allowed  the  programme  to  operate  with  a  high  degree  of  efficiency.  Key  changes  have 
included  the  structuring  of  annual  priorities  into  thematically  linked  ‘projects’,  the 
development of  a new  system for monitoring progress  of programme activities,  and the 
streamlining of platforms for sharing documents and facilitating communications.  

Criticism  was  minor  and  mainly  related  to  efforts  for  continuous  improvement.  For 
example,  the  new  monitoring  system  was  a  big  step  forward,  but  was  considered  too 
complicated  and  burdensome  to  function  as  an  aid  to  decision-making.  Similarly,  some 
concerns were  raised in relation to the limited human resources available to  adequately 
respond to programme’s requirements, while tools for reporting and sharing information 
between joint action participants were found not user-friendly enough. 

Regarding  the  ratio  of  benefits  to  costs,  comparing  the  findings  on  effectiveness  to 
spending  data  and  the  positive  findings  on  operational  efficiency  makes  a  strong  case 
that the programme  overall  is effective and efficient, despite it not being possible 
to  monetise  the  benefits  of  each  component  of  the  programme.  In  their  different  ways, 
the  joint  actions,  Customs  European  Information  Systems  and  training  activities  clearly 
generate value for the EU and national customs administrations, by helping them to pool 
resources (and thereby generate economies of scale), enforce EU customs legislation and 
function more effectively through the sharing of best practices and solutions.  

These  benefits  are  also  commensurate  with  the  proportion  of  the  budget 
allocated to each aspect of the programme. At 84.6%, this is by far the largest for the 
Customs  European  Information  Systems.  This  significant  financial  cost  can  be  justified 
not  only  because  the  systems  have  generally  been  assessed  as  effective,  but  also 
because  the  systems  address  clear  policy  needs.  If  such  systems  were  not  funded 
through  the  programme,  the  Member  States  would  in  many  cases  need  to  duplicate 
efforts  to  produce  their  own  systems  at  much  greater  cost.  Spending  on  joint  actions 
represents  12.8%  of  the  budget  and  consists  mainly  of  travel  and  subsistence  costs  for 
participants.  This  is  relatively  minor  compared  to  the  substantial  and  diverse  benefits 
achieved  across  the  spectrum  of  customs  policy  and  operations.  Common  training  has 
also  achieved  major  benefits,  notably  from  the  eLearning  programme  to  support 
implementation of the Union Customs Code, despite receiving the smallest budget share 
(2.6%).  

Coherence  

Coherence  has  both  an  internal  dimension,  related  to  how  well  the  programme’s  many 
parts  fit  together,  and  an  external  dimension,  related  to  its  alignment  with  other  EU 
policies  and  programmes.  Both  were  judged  positively.  Internal  coherence  is  ensured 
by  annual  programming  processes  that  are  objective-driven,  with  yearly  priorities  that 
are  aligned  with  higher-level  general,  specific  and  operational  objectives  of  the 
programme.  Its  management  arrangements  have  also  enhanced  synergies  and  avoided 
duplications.  The  Programme  Management  Team  acts  as  a  central  coordinator  of  the 

7 

 
 
Customs  2020  programme,  while  several  complementary  fora,  including  the  Customs 
Policy  Group,  the  programme’s  comitology  committee,  expert  groups  and  the 
programme’s  project  groups  with  a  coordination  function,  ensure  the  participation  of 
national customs administrations and Commission stakeholders. The continuous nature of 
the  programme  has  also  acted  as  a  success  factor,  by  allowing  it  to  consolidate 
successful features and to gradually improve over time. Effective internal communication 
and  information-sharing  features  have  reinforced  the  dissemination  of  programme 
messages  and  the  use  of  available  communication  tools  and  channels,  contributing  to 
increasing synergies and internal coherence. 

External coherence  of Customs 2020 with the objectives of the  Europe 2020 Strategy 
is  supported  through  the  programme’s  contribution  to  the  improvement  of  the 
competitiveness and productivity of the European Union. For example, by supporting the 
implementation of the Union Customs Code, the programme contributes to simplification 
of  existing  procedures  that  have  the  potential  to  facilitate  trade  and  reduce  costs  for 
businesses.  Through  support  given  to  the  implementation  of  the  Authorised  Economic 
Operator  programme,  the  Customs  2020  programme  facilitates  legitimate  trade  and 
increases  productivity  and  competitiveness  of  some  businesses.  By  supporting  the 
implementation  of  the  Action  Plan  on  intellectual  property  rights,  the  programme  fights 
against the increasing volume of trade in goods infringing intellectual property rights that 
threatens jobs, growth, innovation and competitiveness.  

The  evaluation  also  found  that  the  programme  is  complementary  to  other  EU 
initiatives, including Horizon 2020, EU Structural and Investment Funds and Connecting 
Europe  Facility  Fund.  In  addition,  relevant  links  and  synergies  were  also  identified  with 
the Single Market Programme, the EU Internal Security Fund and Instrument for Border 
Management  and  Visa,  the  Structural  Reform  Support  Programme,  and  the  Hercule 
Programme.  However,  in  the  eyes  of  the  national  authorities,  there  is  room  for  more 
dialogue  and  coordination  within  other  Commission  services  and  EU  institutions  and 
underexploited possibilities for cooperation. There seem to be room as well for raising the 
visibility  of  the  programme  and  for  providing  more  information  on  the  complementary 
funding instruments to national customs authorities and economic operators, in particular 
in relation to the IT systems.   

Participation  of  and  cooperation  with  third  countries  have  expanded  in  the  first  three 
years  of  the  current  programming  period,  with  Performance  Measurement  Framework 
indicators  confirming  an  increase  in  the  number  of  third  countries  participating  in  or 
cooperating within the programme's activities. 

EU added value 

The concept of EU added value refers to the  extent to which an initiative generates 
benefits  over  and  above  what  would  have  resulted  from  interventions  at  local, 
regional  or  national  level.  In  the  case  of  the  Customs  2020  programme,  this  was 
considered  in  terms  of  contributions  to  policy  objectives,  creating  economies  of  scale, 
complementing  the  activities  and  policies  of  the  Member  States  and  supporting 
achievements  that  are  sustainable  (i.e.  long-lasting  and  not  dependent  on  future  EU 
support).  

The  Customs  2020  programme  has  been  effective  in  providing  solutions  for 
problems  with  a  clear  EU  dimension.  This  is  anchored  in  its  role  as  facilitator  of 
cooperation between participating countries, including  their national administrations and 
economic operators. Many of the joint actions were directly supporting implementation of 
a  policy  or  a  plan.  By  providing  mechanisms  for  discussions,  exchange  of  information, 
networking between participating countries, Customs European Information Systems and 
common training, the programme ensures a harmonised approach to the implementation 
of customs legislation, procedures and rules.  

8 

 
 
fewer  resources.  The 

Efficiency  gains  and  costs  savings  are  among  the  key  elements  of  EU  added  value 
when  it  comes  to  the  IT  systems.  The  evaluation  found  them  to  help  the  national 
administrations  save  time  and  resources,  particularly  for  participating  countries  with 
smaller  customs  administrations  and 
interoperability  and 
interconnectivity  provided  through  the  central  systems  would  be  highly  impractical  and 
costly  to  produce  through  other  means.  Thanks  to  the  programme,  these  results  have 
been  achieved  more  effectively  and  efficiently,  saving  significant  resources  for  national 
administrations.  The  same  is  true  for  the  common  training  activities,  which  provide 
access  to  standardised  and  comprehensive  information  on  the  various  aspects  of  the 
functioning  of  the  Customs  Union.  Ultimately,  the  Customs  2020  programme 
approximates national approaches, establishes trust and creates a single narrative and a 
shared  vision  among  national  customs  administrations,  all  of  which  are  needed  for  to 
implement the Union Customs Code.  

The IT systems, joint actions and training also have a tangible value for the economic 
operators.  The  EU  added  value  in  this  sense  is  analogous  to  the  utility  the  economic 
operators see in the various systems. For example, the TARIC and EBTI databases stood 
out as sources of information that is difficult to find elsewhere and provided at no extra 
cost,  which  is  particularly  useful  when  a  Member  State  does  not  provide  much 
information or for non-EU operators to access customs information. 

The  added  value  of  the  Customs  2020  programme  also  lies  in  providing  a  valuable 
service to beneficiaries who would otherwise be unable to produce the same results with 
the same level of quality and consistency. Even though the outputs and results achieved 
are likely to outlast the current programming period, reduced or discontinued funding 
would  have  negative  impacts 
in  the  medium-term,  such  as  the  gradual 
obsolescence and disuse of Customs European Information Systems. The existence of the 
IT  systems  and  their  timely  funding  are  in  turn  indispensable  for  many  policy  areas  to 
function  well,  allowing  information  to  be  exchanged  rapidly,  in  a  secured  way  and  in  a 
common format. Other achievements attained in successive periods would also be put at 
risk as the trust and working relationships formed through the programme fade away.  

Given  the  scale  of  Customs  2020  operations  in  terms  of  the  sheer  number  of  joint 
actions,  breadth  of  topics  covered,  and  their  European  dimension  /  pan-European 
participation in actions and training, it is difficult to assume that similar activities would 
have  been  organised  at  any  other  level.  Without  a  forum  for  collaboration  and  sharing 
experiences, or a spending programme able to fund common IT systems, it is difficult to 
imagine the Member States passing legislation that requires  such level of harmonisation 
in  the  quickly  evolving  customs  environment.  Among  other  things,  implementing  such 
legislation  without  a  programme  would  require  substantially  higher  costs  due  to  the 
duplication of efforts.  

Recommendations  

It  follows  from  the  above  that  the  Customs  2020  programme  should  be  continued 
in order to consolidate the achievements made so far and to address established needs. 
The  recommendations  below  offer  some  ideas  that  could  be  used  to  improve  the 
programme  in  the  future,  both  during  the  current  funding  period  and  later  on  and  for 
stakeholders at different levels.  

No  Recommendation  

Programming and design 

Responsible  

Timeframe 

1 

Make  more  practical  use  of  the  Annual  Work  Programme 
projects  and  consider  multi-annual  programming.  In  the 
short  term  this  could  mean  more  discussion  of  the 
projects, while  in the longer-term  (as is already proposed 
for  the  next  funding  period)  multi-annual  programming 
would help increase coordination.  

European 
Commission 

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

9 

 
 
2 

3 

4 

5 

No  Recommendation  

Designate  long-term,  platform-like  joint  actions  as  such, 
so  that  appropriate  criteria  can  be  defined  for  funding 
applications and monitoring of such actions. 

for  development  and  promotion  of 
Refine  strategy 
eLearning  modules,  so  that  the  training  programme 
addresses identified needs. 

Responsible  

Timeframe 

European 
Commission 

Next  funding 
period 

European 
Commission 
and 
national 
administrations 

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

Investigate ways to improve the technological platform for 
the delivery of eLearning modules, based both on solutions 
on the market and best practices and synergies from other 
Commission services and initiatives.  

European 
Commission 
and 
national 
administrations  

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

Improve  the  procedures  for  the  translation,  localisation 
and  updates  to  eLearning  modules.  This  could  lead  to 
quicker  localisations  and  updates,  and  solutions  that  are 
more tailored to the needs of individual countries. 

European 
Commission 
and 
national 
administrations  

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

Implementation 

6 

7 

Increase  coordination  with  other  EU  programmes,  both  in 
terms  of  operational  coordination  with 
the  Fiscalis 
programme  and  establishing  a  forum  for  working  with 
other Commission Directorates-General 

European 
Commission 

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

the  procedures  and 

Optimise 
the 
implementation  of  joint  actions,  so  that  the  workload  for 
available  human  resources  and  administrative  burdens  on 
different actors are appropriate. 

resources 

for 

European 
Commission 
and 
national 
administrations  

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

Monitoring and reporting 

8 

9 

Streamline the monitoring system so it meets actual needs 
while  reducing  administrative  burdens.  This  could  include 
both quick fixes like simplified forms and a study to refine 
and reduce the number of monitoring indicators. 

European 
Commission 

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

Develop  a  more  coherent  approach 
to  assessing 
programme  performance  to  reduce  burdens  and  lead  to 
more purposeful reports.  

European 
Commission 

Next  funding 
period 

10 

Improve  reporting  and  information-sharing  tools,  so  that 
these  can  be  made  more  user-friendly  while  still  meeting 
demands for security and functionality. 

European 
Commission 

Next  funding 
period 

Communication 

11 

Increase  senior-level  buy-in  and  political  will  among 
national  administrations 
to  boost  participation  and 
engagement. 

National 
administrations  

12  Communicate  more  actively  about  the  possibilities  of  the 
programme,  with  national  coordinators  and  other  officials 
taking  a  more  active  role  in  finding  out  about  and 
spreading awareness of the programme. 

National 
administrations  

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

13  Review  strategy  for  dealing  with  economic  operators  and 
citizens,  with  a  view 
to  arriving  at  a  common 
understanding  of  whether  and  to  what  extent  actors 
beyond administrations should be targeted.  

European 
Commission 
national 
and 
administrations  

Short-term 
and 
funding 
period 

next 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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 doi: 10.2778/253715