Article 1 Subject matter
This Regulation establishes the Customs programme for cooperation in the field of customs (the ‘Programme’) for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027. The duration of the Programme shall be aligned to the duration of the multiannual financial framework. This Regulation lays down the objectives of the Programme, the budget for the period 2021 to 2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘customs authorities’ means the customs authorities as defined in point (1) of Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013; (2) ‘European electronic systems’ means electronic systems necessary for the customs union and for the execution of the mission of customs authorities, in particular the electronic systems referred to in Article 16(1) and Articles 278 and 280 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2019/880 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ) , and in other provisions of Union law governing electronic systems for customs purposes, including international agreements, such as the Customs Convention on the international transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets (TIR Convention) ( 18 ) ; (3) ‘common component’ means a component of the European electronic systems, developed at Union level, which is available for all Member States or identified as common by the Commission for reasons of efficiency, security and rationalisation; (4) ‘national component’ means a component of the European electronic systems, developed at national level, which is available in the Member State that created that component or contributed to its joint creation; (5) ‘third country’ means a country that is not a Member State of the Union.
Article 3 Programme objectives
1. The general objective of the Programme is to support the customs union and customs authorities working together and acting as one to protect the financial and economic interests of the Union and its Member States, to ensure security and safety within the Union and to protect the Union from unfair and illegal trade, while facilitating legitimate business activity. 2. The specific objectives of the Programme are to support: (a) the preparation and uniform implementation of customs legislation and policy; (b) customs cooperation; (c) administrative and IT capacity building, including human competency and training, as well as the development and operation of European electronic systems; (d) innovation in the area of customs policy.
Article 4 Budget
1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period 2021–2027 shall be EUR 950 000 000 in current prices. 2. The amount referred to in paragraph 1 may also cover expenses for preparation, monitoring, control, audit, evaluation and other activities for managing the Programme and evaluating the achievement of its objectives. It may also cover expenses linked to studies, meetings of experts, information and communication actions that are related to the objectives of the Programme, as well as expenses linked to information technology networks focusing on information processing and exchange, including corporate information technology tools and other technical and administrative assistance needed in connection with the management of the Programme.
Article 5 Participation of third countries in the Programme
The Programme shall be open to the participation of the following third countries: (a) acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions, or in similar agreements and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the Union and those countries; (b) European Neighbourhood Policy countries, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions or in similar agreements and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the Union and those countries; (c) other third countries, in accordance with the conditions laid down in a specific agreement covering the participation of the third country to any Union programme, provided that the agreement: (i) ensures a fair balance as regards the contributions and benefits of the third country participating in the Union programmes; (ii) lays down the conditions of participation in the programmes, including the calculation of financial contributions to individual programmes, and their administrative costs; (iii) does not confer on the third country any decision-making power in respect of the Union programme; (iv) guarantees the rights of the Union to ensure sound financial management and to protect its financial interests. The contributions referred to in point (c)(ii) of the first paragraph shall constitute assigned revenues in accordance with Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation.
Article 6 Implementation and forms of Union funding
1. The Programme shall be implemented under direct management in accordance with the Financial Regulation. 2. The Programme may provide funding in any of the forms laid down in the Financial Regulation, in particular by means of grants, prizes, procurement and the reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses incurred by external experts.
Article 7 Eligible actions
1. Only actions implementing the objectives set out in Article 3 shall be eligible for funding. 2. Actions complementing or supporting the actions implementing the objectives set out in the Customs Control Equipment Instrument Regulation shall also be eligible for funding under the Programme. 3. The actions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall include the following: (a) meetings and similar ad hoc events; (b) project-based structured collaboration, such as collaborative IT development by a group of Member States; (c) IT capacity-building actions, in particular the development and operation of European electronic systems; (d) human-competency and other capacity-building actions, including training and exchange of best practices; (e) support actions and other actions, including: (i) studies; (ii) innovation activities, in particular proof-of-concepts, pilot projects, prototyping initiatives, smart data mining and collaboration among systems; (iii) jointly developed communication actions; (iv) any other actions provided for in the work programmes referred to in Article 12, which are necessary for attaining, or are in support of, the objectives set out in Article 3. Annex I contains a non-exhaustive list of possible forms of actions as referred to in points (a), (b) and (d) of the first subparagraph. 4. Actions consisting in the development, deployment, maintenance and operation of adaptations of or extensions to the common components of the European electronic systems to enable cooperation with third countries that are not participating in the Programme or with international organisations shall be eligible for funding when they are of interest to the Union. The Commission shall put in place the necessary administrative arrangements, which may include a requirement for the third parties concerned to contribute financially to those actions. 5. Where an IT capacity-building action as referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 3 of this Article concerns the development and operation of a European electronic system, only the costs related to the responsibilities conferred on the Commission pursuant to Article 11(2) shall be eligible for funding under the Programme. Member States shall bear the costs related to the responsibilities conferred on them pursuant to Article 11(3).
Article 8 External experts
1. Where beneficial for the completion of an action implementing the objectives set out in Article 3, representatives of governmental authorities, including those from third countries that are not participating in the Programme, academics and representatives of international and other relevant organisations, representatives of economic operators, representatives of organisations representing economic operators and representatives of civil society may take part as external experts in such action. 2. Costs incurred by the external experts referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be eligible for reimbursement under the Programme in accordance with Article 238 of the Financial Regulation. 3. External experts for expert groups shall be selected by the Commission, including from experts proposed by the Member States. External experts participating in their personal capacity in ad hoc events under the Programme, such as one-off meetings and conferences, shall be selected by the Commission, including from experts proposed by participating countries. External experts shall be selected on the basis of their skills, experience and knowledge relevant to the specific action and according to needs. The Commission shall assess, inter alia, the impartiality of external experts who are appointed in their personal capacity and required to act independently and in the public interest, and the absence of conflicts of interest with their professional responsibilities.
Article 9 Award, complementarity and combined funding
1. Grants under the Programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title VIII of the Financial Regulation. 2. An action that has received a contribution under the Programme may also receive a contribution from another Union programme, provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs. The rules of the relevant Union programme shall apply to the corresponding contribution to the action. The cumulative funding shall not exceed the total eligible costs of the action. The support from the different Union programmes may be calculated on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support. 3. In accordance with point (f) of the first paragraph of Article 195 of the Financial Regulation, grants shall be awarded without a call for proposals where the eligible entities are customs authorities of participating countries, provided that the conditions set out in Article 5 of this Regulation are met. 4. The work of the evaluation committee referred to in Article 150 of the Financial Regulation shall be based on the general principles applicable to grants laid down in Article 188 of the Financial Regulation and in particular, on the principles of equal treatment and transparency laid down in points (a) and (b) of Article 188 of the Financial Regulation, as well as on the principle of non-discrimination. 5. The evaluation committee shall evaluate proposals on the basis of the award criteria, taking into account, where appropriate, the relevance of the proposed action in view of the objectives pursued, the quality of the proposed action, its impact, including its economic, social and environmental impact, and its budget and cost-effectiveness.
Article 10 Co-financing rate
1. By way of derogation from Article 190 of the Financial Regulation, the Programme may finance up to 100 % of the total eligible costs of an action. 2. The applicable co-financing rate where actions require the awarding of grants shall be set out in the multiannual work programmes referred to in Article 12.
Article 11 Responsibilities
1. The Commission and the Member States shall jointly, and in accordance with the relevant provisions of Union law referred to in the definition in point (2) of Article 2, ensure the development and operation of the European electronic systems, including their design, specification, conformance testing, deployment, maintenance, evolution, modernisation, security, quality assurance and quality control. 2. The Commission shall, in particular, ensure the following: (a) the development and operation of common components; (b) the overall coordination of the development and operation of European electronic systems with a view to achieving their operability, cyber-resilience, interconnectivity, continuous improvement and synchronised implementation, and, as part of that overall coordination, the facilitation of an efficient and swift communication with and between Member States on matters related to those systems; (c) the coordination of European electronic systems at Union level with a view to their promotion and implementation at national level; (d) the coordination of the development and operation of European electronic systems as regards their interactions with third parties, excluding actions designed to meet national requirements; (e) the coordination of European electronic systems with other relevant actions relating to eGovernment at Union level; (f) the timely and transparent communication with the stakeholders that are concerned with the implementation of European electronic systems at Union and Member State level, in particular about delays in the implementation of common and national components. 3. The Member States shall, in particular, ensure the following: (a) the development and operation of national components; (b) the coordination of the development and operation of the national components at national level; (c) the coordination of European electronic systems with other relevant actions relating to eGovernment at national level; (d) the regular provision to the Commission of information on the measures taken to enable the customs authorities or economic operators concerned to make full and effective use of the European electronic systems; (e) the implementation at national level of European electronic systems. 4. The Commission shall publish and regularly update, for information purposes, an indicative list of the European electronic systems financed under the Programme.
Article 12 Work programme
1. The Programme shall be implemented through multiannual work programmes as referred to in Article 110(2) of the Financial Regulation. 2. In order to ensure the implementation of the Programme, and without prejudice to the Financial Regulation, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts to establish multiannual work programmes. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 17(2). 3. The multiannual work programmes shall aim to achieve the objectives set out in Article 3 through the actions in accordance with Article 7. They shall set out, where appropriate, the total amount of the financing plan for all actions and shall set out: (a) for each action: (i) the objectives pursued and the expected results, in accordance with the general and specific objectives set out in Article 3; (ii) a description of the actions to be financed; (iii) where appropriate, an indication of the amount allocated to each action; and (iv) the method of implementation and an indicative implementation timetable; (b) for grants, the maximum rate of co-financing referred to in Article 10(2), and where appropriate, the essential award criteria to be applied.
Article 13 Monitoring and reporting
1. Indicators to report on the progress of the Programme towards the achievement of the general and specific objectives set out in Article 3 are listed in Annex II. 2. To ensure effective assessment of the Programme’s progress towards the achievement of its objectives, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 16, to amend Annex II with regard to the indicators where considered necessary, as well as to supplement this Regulation with provisions on the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework. 3. The performance reporting system shall ensure that data for monitoring the implementation and the results of the Programme are collected efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner. To that end, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on the recipients of Union funds.
Article 14 Evaluation
1. Evaluations shall be carried out in a timely manner so that they can be used in the decision-making process. 2. An interim evaluation of the Programme shall be carried out by the Commission once there is sufficient information available about its implementation, but no later than four years after the start of that implementation. In its interim evaluation, the Commission shall assess the performance of the Programme, including aspects such as effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance, synergies within the Programme and Union added-value. 3. At the end of the implementation of the Programme, but no later than four years after the end of the period specified in Article 1, a final evaluation of the Programme shall be carried out by the Commission. 4. The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of the evaluations, accompanied by its observations and lessons learned, to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.
Article 15 Protection of the financial interests of the Union
Where a third country participates in the Programme by means of a decision adopted pursuant to an international agreement or on the basis of any other legal instrument, the third country shall grant the necessary rights and access required for the authorising officer responsible, OLAF and the Court of Auditors to comprehensively exercise their respective competences. In the case of OLAF, such rights shall include the right to carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, as provided for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013.
Article 16 Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 13(2) shall be conferred on the Commission until 31 December 2027. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before that date. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. 3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 13(2) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force. 4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. 5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 13(2) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Article 17 Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee referred to as the Customs Programme Committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 18 Information, communication and publicity
1. The recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin of those funds and ensure the visibility of the Union funding, in particular when promoting the actions and their results, by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including the media and the public. 2. The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating to the Programme, to actions taken pursuant to the Programme and to the results obtained. 3. Financial resources allocated to the Programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, insofar as those priorities are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.
Article 19 Repeal
Regulation (EU) No 1294/2013 is repealed with effect from 1 January 2021.
Article 20 Transitional provisions
1. This Regulation shall not affect the continuation of or modification of actions initiated pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1294/2013, which shall continue to apply to those actions until their closure. 2. The financial envelope for the Programme may also cover the technical and administrative assistance expenses necessary to ensure the transition between the Programme and the measures adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1294/2013. 3. If necessary, appropriations may be entered in the Union budget beyond 2027 to cover the expenses provided for in Article 4(2), to enable the management of actions not completed by 31 December 2027.
Article 21 Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . It shall apply from 1 January 2021.