CUSTOMS COOPERATION DECLINED BY THE EU

Customs activity is essential for the safeguarding the EU’s external borders, for the protection of legal trade, for the protection of citizens from terrorist, health, environmental threats, for the management of Union and Member States financial interests.

The customs union is one of the few areas of exclusive EU competence, a significant example of successful EU integration in the last 50 years, a key element for the creation of the world’s largest trading market, which accounts about 15% of total global trade. Constantly evolving technologies and business models have posed new challenges; the reduction of public financial resources, the increase in the volume of world trade, the activity of transnational crime and security threats, require a continuous improvement of the performance of the customs union and an extension of the scope of the tasks carried out by customs authorities, thanks to a more dynamic and operational cooperation.

Among the actions envisaged by Regulation (EU) no. 444/21, in which private subjects can also take part as consultants, we recall seminars, workshops, work visits, project groups, permanent or temporary structural cooperation task forces, aggregation of different skills, training and technical assistance.