CELEX: 51992PC0328
Language: en
Date: 1992-07-22
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) ON MEASURES TO ADAPT THE PROFESSION OF CUSTOMS AGENT TO THE INTERNAL MARKET

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                               C0M(92) 328 final
                                               Brussels, 22 July 1992
                                Proposal for a
                           COUNCIL REGULATION ( E F m
            ON MEASURES TO ADAPT THE PROFESSION OF CUSTOMS AGENT
                            TO THE INTERNAL MARKET
                        (presented by the Commission)
.ÏSXÏS
 ---pagebreak---                          EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
The abolition of tax frontiers and customs controls within the
Community on 1 January 1993 will force many companies in the sector of
customs agents to adjust their activities accordingly. Although a
number of them have begun to diversify in the run-up to this date, the
process of adaptation to the internal market is far from complete and
concerns only part of the sector.
An audit backed by the Commission shows the figures involved: the
sector has 16 250 companies and 239 000 workers. Of these, 63 000
(approximately 25%) are at risk of losing their Jobs. Following this
audit, the Commission consulted representatives of employers and
workers in the profession and decided to adopt Community back-up
measures to assist customs agents. These measures are described in the
Communication from the Commission to the Council and Parliament
(SEC 92/887) of May 1992.
The Commission believes that the principle of subsidiarity prevents the
Community from taking on the responsibilities of the Member States and
the profession concerned. That is why it is for the Member States to
take the necessary measures in this area, as several of them have
already done. The social aspect includes age-related measures (early
retirement,   dispensation    from  working,    etc.)  and    retraining,
compensation for loss of earnings, relocation assistance, etc. On the
economic front, various tax measures designed inter al ia to enable
companies to write redundancy payments off against tax, have been
adopted or planned by certain Member States, as well as measures to
relieve   the   financial   burden   on   companies   fulfilling    their
responsibiIit ies.
Since the nature of the activities in question makes this an
exceptional situation, the Commission believes that Community back-up
measures are both necessary and Justified in order to make it easier
for the profession to adapt to the internal market. These back-up
measures come under three headings: measures under the European Social
Fund, measures under INTERREG and measures outside the structural
Funds, the last being the subject of this Regulation.
The ESF can already finance vocational training for people facing
unemployment, as is now the case for customs agents, in the regions
listed in Objectives 1, 2 and 5(b). In addition, with effect from
1 January 1993 the Commission has decided to classify as long-term
unemployed all customs agents in the Community who have lost their Jobs
(Objective 3 of the structural Funds). The operations eligible for ESF
support relate to training and Job creation.
As far as INTERREG is concerned, the Commission has      identified four
specific types of solution for customs agents:
    the restructuring of the companies concerned;
    the training and reorganisation of their staff;
    the conversion and refitting of goods-handling sites at frontiers;
    the creation of replacement Jobs.
 ---pagebreak--- Lastly, given the particular nature of this problem, the Commission
believes that specific measures are needed to supplement those carried
out under the ESF and INTERREG. These measures will be of an
exceptional nature and are the subject of this proposal            for a
Régulât ion.
To this end, the Commission has included a one-off budget heading of
ECU 30 million in the preliminary draft budget for 1993.
These specific measures, which are not financed under the structural
Funds, pursue a twin objective. Firstly, to provide assistance to the
areas of the Community which are particularly dependent on the
profession concerned in terms of Jobs and income and, secondly, to ease
the conversion or restructuring of the hardest hit companies in the
customs sector, notably     in order to maintain employment through
diversification of activities and the creation of alternative Jobs.
This Regulation will apply, as regards both of its objectives, in all
the worst affected regions of the Community, including regions already
covered by Objectives 1, 2 or 5(b) of the structural Funds and
 irrespective of whether the Social Fund or INTERREG are contributing to
similar measures in these regions.
The measures for the most severely affected geographical areas include
development    assistance  and   the  establishment   of  new   economic
act ivit ies.
The measures to assist the hardest hit companies will             include
assistance in planning the restructuring of companies, market studies
and technology transfers, co-financing of conversion         investment,
diversification and restructuring.
                                                                          • * >
 ---pagebreak---                                  Draft
                  Council Regulation (EEC) No       /92
                             of       1992
on measures to adapt the profession of customs agent to the        internal
market.
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the            European   Economic
Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,
Whereas the abolition of tax frontiers and customs             controls on
1 January 1993 will    have  far-reaching    repercussions    on   economic
activity at the Community's internal borders;
Whereas customs agents are heavily     involved   in customs controls and
customs formalities;
Whereas the abolition of customs formalities at the Community's
 internal borders will abruptly end the intra-Community activities of
this profession;
Whereas this profession must completely rethink its future beyond
1 January 1993; whereas this will have major repercussions both for
employees in the sector and for the companies and areas whose economic
structure is geared primarily to cross-border activities;
Whereas, in the light of the circumstances and in accordance with the
principle of subsidiarity, supplementary         Community   measures   can
usefully contribute to the work undertaken by Member States;
Whereas the Community feels that     urgent    back-up   measures  to  help
customs agents are called for;
Whereas these measures will be related       in particular    to  Community
action under the structural Funds;
Whereas it is necessary to supplement the action supported by the
structural Funds with operations not financed under these Funds, in
order to establish a complete set of measures to assist              in the
restructuring and diversification of the services provided by this
profession;
Whereas these specific and exceptional measures, designed to supplement
structural Fund activities, should be limited in time;
Whereas the measures covered by this Regulation should be in keeping
with Community policies, including those relating to competition rules;
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas these measures    are  designed   to contribute  to economic  and
social cohesion;
Whereas the Community aims to assist the areas and companies affected
by the Community policy of abolishing tax frontiers and customs
controls;
Whereas the measures to support the areas and companies concerned
should provide various types of assistance relating to management,
access to capital markets, vocational training of workers, etc;
Whereas the arrangements for Community action should be specified with
a view to implementing the measures for attaining the objectives set;
Whereas the applications for assistance submitted by the Member States
are being drawn up in conjunction with the occupational and social
interest groups concerned,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                               Ar 11cIe One
                                OblectIves
Community action under this Regulation shall be designed to achieve the
following objectives:
    assisting the geographical areas hardest hit by the abolition of
    frontiers to pool local energies and resources for the purposes of
    economic restructuring and the creation of replacement activities;
    promoting the conversion and/or restructuring of the weakened but
    viable firms referred to in Article 2(2) to save all or some
    existing Jobs, by measures to improve strategic planning, company
    productivity and the forecasting of staffing requirements and
    sk iI Is.
                                 Article 2
                                  Measures
1.  Operations to assist    the geographic   areas  in question shall  be
    concerned with:
         providing the competent authorities with advice on development;
         supporting local development measures;
         funding back-up infrastructure for local development;
         contributing towards the payment of interest.
 ---pagebreak--- 2.  Operations to assist companies heavily involved in customs controls
    and intra-Community customs formalities shall concern:
         management of the conversion or restructuring of the companies,
         in particular by market studies and research;
         technology transfer, including the collection and dissemination
         of information, and innovation within companies;
         assistance in the creation of replacement Jobs;
         investment in the creation or preservation of permanent Jobs-,
         vocational   training   for   employees    and   any   measures   to
         facilitate such training.
                                 Article 3
                                Eligibility
All areas of the Community shall be eligible for the measures adopted
under Art icle 2.
Operations funded under       this Regulation     shall    comply  with   the
provisions of the Treaties,        instruments   deriving    from   them  and
Community policies.
                                 Article 4
                            Forms pf assistance
Community financial assistance shall take the form of:
    funding of projects, including refunds, from         1 January   1993 for
    measures implemented from that date;
    general grants allocated to a public or private intermediary
    designated by the Member State, who shall ensure their distribution
     in individual amounts to the final recipients, including refunds
    from 1 January 1993 onwards for measures implemented from that
    date.
                                 Article 5
                           Levels of assistance
Total Community assistance shall not exceed       50X of the cost of the
measures set out in Article 2. In certain         cases, in particular in
regions whose development is lagging behind,      it shall be possible for
the Commission to increase the contribution to    75%.
The   Community   contribution   shall    supplement    private   or   public
expenditure.
 ---pagebreak---                                  Article 6
                       Applications for assistance
Applications for assistance shall be presented, from 1 January 1993
onwards, by the competent authorities designated by the Member States
following consultations with the professional and social interest
groups concerned. The deadline for receipt of such applications shall
be 31 March 1993.
                                 Article 7
       Approval of applications for assistance and implementation
The Commission shall adopt a decision on the applications for
assistance, in principle no later than three months after their
submission, provided that the conditions stipulated in this Regulation
have been met.
The Community's operations shall cover a period commencing on
1 January 1993; the legal commitment for such measures shall be entered
into by 31 December 1993.
                                 Art icle 8
                           Technical assistance
Apart from the forms of assistance referred to in Article 4, financial
support may also be provided for expenditure on technical assistance,
evaluation and follow-up concerning Community measures.
For such operations, by way of derogation from Article 5, Community
funding may account for up to 100% of the cost. However, the overall
amount for these measures shall not exceed 2% of the total budget
appropriation provided for in this Regulation.
                                 Art icle 9
                   Foliow-up - evaluation - monitoring
Community follow-up of the measures shall be conducted   in cooperation
between the Commission and the Member States.
Member States shall be responsible for the follow-up, evaluation and
monitoring of the appropriate use of the financial assistance.
In addition, Member States shall be responsible for refunding to the
Community any sums paid in error.
 ---pagebreak---                                Article 10
                        Commitments - payments
1.  Budgetary commitments shall be made on the basis of the decisions
    taken by the Commission approving the measures concerned.
2.  Financial assistance shall be paid in accordance with the budgetary
    commitments and shall be sent to the authority designated for this
    purpose in the application submitted by the Member State concerned.
3.  An advance of 50% of each commitment shall be paid by the Community
    following the commitment.
4.  The balance shall be paid on condition that:
    the designated authority referred to in paragraph 2 submits to the
    Commission a request for payment within six months of the actual
    completion of the measure, and no later than 30 June 1995;
    the Member State certifies the accuracy of the information supplied
    in the request for payment.
                               Article 11
                             Use of the ecu
The amounts of the Commission's     commitments  and payments  shall be
expressed and paid in ecus.
The exchange rates applicable at the time of receipt of the application
for assistance and the request for final payment shall be used.
                               Article 12
                                 Report
The Commission shall report to the Council and Parliament on the action
taken pursuant to this Regulation by 1 November 1994.
 ---pagebreak---                                Art 8cle 13
                            Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1993 for one year
This Regulation shall be binding        in  its  entirety and  directly
applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,
                                         For the CounciI
                                         The President
                                                                        1
 ---pagebreak---                              FINANCIAL STATEMENT
 1. TITLE OF OPERATION
     Measures for adapting      the profession of   customs agent to the
      internal market.
 2.  BUDGET HEADINGS INVOLVED
     B3-4015: 1993 (proposed in the preliminary draft budget for 1993)
 3.  LEGAL BASIS
     Council Regulation (EEC) No.../92 of ...1992 on measures to adapt
     the profession of customs agent to the internal market.
 4.  DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION
     4.1 Specific objectives of operation
          This proposal for Community back-up measures for operations
          drawn up and adopted by Member States is intended to support
          moves to ease the adjustment to the internal market of customs
          agents, who will lose overnight their role in intra-Community
          trade when the internal market is completed. The measures must
          therefore be implemented urgently. They will apply in 1992
          and, above all, 1993.
          The structural Funds are contributing to this plan through the
           INTERREG initiative and the European Social Fund.
           It is planned that heading B3-4015 will be used to implement a
          series of measures to supplement action taken by the Community
          and Member States in the worst-hit areas.
     4.2 Duration
          1993
     4.3 Target population
          Customs agents and their staff
5.  CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE
    5.1 Non-compulsory expenditure
    5.2 Differentiated appropriations
6.  TYPE OF EXPENDITURE
    Co-financing with other public or private sector sources in concert
    with the Member States.
7.  FINANCIAL IMPACT
 ---pagebreak---     7.1 Method of calculating total cost of operation
        ECU 30 mi I I ion.
        The total contribution planned equals 3% of average Community
        annual net earnings of ECU 16 000 multiplied by the number of
        people on the payroll:
        ECU 16 000 x 3/100 x 63 000 - ECU 30 mi I I ion.
    7.2 Breakdown of operation
Breakdown                 1992 Budget       1993 PDB                  %
                                                                 Var iat ion
                                              30.0
    7.3 Indicative schedule of commitment appropriations
                                                             ECU mill ions
 1992       1993                            Indicative programming
Budget      PDB
                     1994          1995              1996        1997 and
                                                                 subsequent
                                                                 f inaneiaI
                                                                 years
            30.0      -
Indicate any initial forecasts included In the financial statement:
- Potential commitment:
- Period of application: 1993
- Total planned to have been used by 31 December 1992:
ECU       mi I I ion
8.  WHAT ANT I-FRAUD   MEASURES   ARE   PLANNED  IN THE   PROPOSAL   FOR   THE
    OPERATION?
    Member States are to take the necessary control measures to ensure
    the appropriate use of the financial assistance. Member States
    shall also be responsible for refunding to the Community any sums
    paid in error.
9.  ELEMENTS OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS
    9.1 Objectives
        Temporary Community back-up measures in support of Member
        States' operations to reorganise the work of customs agents and
                                                                               U
 ---pagebreak---     retrain their staff following the abolition of customs and tax
    controls at the Community's internal frontiers.
9.2 Grounds for the operation
  9.2.1 Cost
        ECU 30 million contribution towards operations aimed at
        retraining those facing unemployment or restructuring firms
        facing particularly severe difficulties. The operations
        will be strengthened in areas recognised, in consultation
        with the Member States, as being particularly hard-hit.
  9.2.2 Spin-off effects
        Dismantling of control structures. Regional conversion of
        the worst-hit areas where economic activity is closely
        bound up with frontier activities.
  9.2.3 Multiplier   effect  (ability to mobilise  other  sources of
        finance)
        The proposed action, forming part of an overall package, is
         likely to give an impetus to other measures.
9.3 Monitoring and evaluation of the operation
  9.3.1 Performance indicators selected
        Number of conversions; creation of alternative activities.
  9.3.2 Details and frequency of planned evaluation
        Report     on    implementation   to    be    presented   by
        1 November 1994.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(92) 328 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                          0104
                                 Catalogue number : CB-CO-92-372-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-47097-6
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