On Wednesday 16 December, the Member States’ Ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) are expected to agree to adopt, by written procedure, the conclusions from the EU Council regarding the European Commission’s action plan relating to the Customs Union, which was presented at the end of September (see EUROPE 12569/4).
The document, which was agreed at the technical level on 30 November, stresses that, in light of the fact the Customs Union generally functions well, any new measures should, in the first instance, build on existing resources, structures and procedures, but should also pay attention to innovation and the changing circumstances in which customs operates.
According to the document, the actions must be prioritised according to their impact on strengthening economic competitiveness and their added value, and workable implementation timelines must be planned.
The final version does not contain many changes when compared to a previous version, drawn up at the beginning of November (see EUROPE 12599/15). In particular, the document continues to emphasise the need for close cooperation between Member States in light of the challenges posed by the rapid changes in the area of e-commerce.
The Member States are looking forward to the Commission’s assessment of the role and obligations of e-commerce actors, which should determine whether and how electronically available data from online marketplaces could streamline the customs clearance of goods and tackle customs and tax risks, while facilitating more effective controls. They also expect the assessment to address the possible effects on the limited IT capacities of the Member States’ customs authorities.
In its conclusions, the EU Council also welcomes the Commission’s proposal to establish an EU-Single Window (see EUROPE 12591/13), but also underlines that preconditions for the success of this initiative are sufficient harmonisation of declaration requirements in non-customs policy areas and sufficient time for implementation.
Lastly, the final version is still guarded in its approach to the Commission’s intention to explore the possibility of creating an EU customs agency. It calls for the Commission to take into account the expertise of the Member States when it launches its impact assessment, and to include all possible alternative solutions and a timeframe for in-depth reflection.
The conclusions can be found at: https://bit.ly/2WfyHW5 (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)