Customs to assess its role in future

The European Commission and EU member states, will undertake a feasibility study in the second half of 2005 to determine the future role of Customs in the EU as both facilitator and regulator of trade.

The decision was one of the outcomes of the 72nd Meeting of the Directors General of Customs of the EU Member States and Turkey, which took place in the western coastal town of Paphos last week. Turkey did not accept the invitation to attend.

The principal issue discussed concerned the future role of Customs services within the European Union set against the backdrop of two political initiatives, which have an impact on the efficient functioning of EU’s Single Market.

The first such political initiative is known as the Hague Programme which has as its focus improved border management particularly in the area of cross border and cross agency co-operation, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The meeting also examined the pivotal role of Customs in the international supply chain of trade and commerce, in the light of the Lisbon Council decision to make the EU “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”.

Bulgaria and Romania also attended the meeting following the signing of the Accession Treaty by their Governments on 25th April last.