Action programme for customs (Customs 2020), 2014-2020
The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection adopted the report by Raffaele BALDASSARRE (EPP, IT) on the amended proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an action programme for customs in the European Union for the period 2014-2020 (Customs 2020) and repealing Decision No 624/2007/EC.
The committee recommends that the position of the European Parliament adopted in first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the Commission proposal as follows:
General objective – fight against fraud: given the dynamics of the new challenges and the need to protect citizens from security and safety risks posed by international trade in goods, Members feel that additional emphasis should be placed on combating fraud. The general objective of the programme shall be to support the functioning of the customs union and to strengthen the internal market, through an efficient and effective modernisation of the customs union by means of cooperation between participating countries, their customs authorities, their officials and external experts.
Specific and operational objectives: for reasons of increased visibility and legal clarity it is appropriate to establish general, specific as well as operational objectives in the Articles of the Regulation.
One of the specific objectives aims to fight fraud, protect intellectual property and to enhance competitiveness, safety and security by enhancing cooperation with international organisations, Union authorities such as the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF), third countries, other governmental authorities and economic operators and their organisations.
The progress made on each of the specific objectives shall be measured by a set of indicators that shall be established and, if necessary, modified in an annual work programme.
These shall be measured against pre-defined baselines reflecting the situation before implementation.
Support for strengthening technical capacity: in order to ensure comprehensive support for various aspects of engagement by customs authorities, the Programme should cover not only the joint actions, IT capacity building and human competency building, but also technical capacity building, and particularly in the area of acquisition and maintenance of the requisite technical equipment.
Information systems component: to increase legal certainty it is necessary to indicate a reference to the provision which defines the terms "Union components" and ''non-Union components". The report clearly indicates that the Union shall bear the cost of acquisitions, development, and maintenance of the Union components, whereas the costs relating to the non-Union components shall be borne by the participating countries.
Allocation of the budget: bearing in mind the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework (MFF), Members left black the amount of the financial envelope. They stress, however, that the co-legislators should have the prerogative of giving political guidance in terms of the distribution of spending amounts.
Furthermore, as the European Information Systems constitute an essential element of the programme, the report suggests that financial support for the acquisition and maintenance of technical equipment should be no higher than 10 %.
Annual work programme – delegated acts: as the annual work programme contains elements that are significant policy choices (priorities, adjustment to the breakdown of the budget, indicators to measure the performance) intended to supplement or amend the primary policy shaping elements in this Regulation, Members propose to delegate powers to the Commission with respect to adoption of the annual work programme.
Reports: the Commission shall submit the mid-term evaluation report to the European Parliament and the Council by 31 December 2018 and the final evaluation report by 30 June 2022. If the mid-term evaluation report reveals major shortcomings in the programme, the Commission shall consider presenting a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council for amendment of the programme.