Tekst verordening EU-douanebeleid 2014-2020 bekrachtigd door Coreper (en)

Today the Committee of Permanent Representatives i (COREPER I) endorsed the final compromise text of the Regulation on action programme for customs in the European Union for the period 2014-2020 (Customs 2020), which was negotiated by the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament. The program aims to modernise the Customs Union by providing support for development of IT systems, joint actions and human competency building.

Customs 2020 will support cooperation between customs authorities in the EU to help maximise their efficiency and avoid mismatches in their work, which could hinder the functioning of the Customs Union. It will facilitate networking, joint actions and training amongst customs personnel, while also funding IT systems to enable the development of a fully fledged electronic customs in Europe.

Lithuanian Ambassador Arūnas Vinčiūnas signed the letter on behalf of the Council with the compromise text attached, which will be sent to the IMCO Committee, informing that this text is acceptable to the Council and proposing that an agreement in first reading could be reached.

One of the priorities of Lithuanian Presidency i is the Effective control of EU external borders. The timely adoption of this regulation will contribute to the implementation of this important task.

Chairman of COREPER I thanked the previous Council presidencies for their substantial work on negotiating this important Regulation. On the Council side four presidencies have worked to negotiate this legislative act - first the Poland and Denmark, then Cyprus. The work was completed by Ireland, which negotiated it with the European Parliament and the Commission.

The Program is part of the package proposed in the context of the next MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework). With a budget of EUR 522,9 million, the programme will run for 7 years from 1 January 2014.