Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The Customs programme has the general objective to support the customs union and customs authorities working together and acting as one to protect the financial and economic interests of the Union and its Member States, to ensure security and safety within the Union and to protect the Union from unfair and illegal trade, while facilitating legitimate business activity.

In more detail, the Programme has the specific objectives to support the preparation and uniform implementation of customs legislation and policy, customs cooperation, administrative and IT capacity building, including human competency and training, as well as the development and operation of European electronic systems, as well as innovation in the area of customs policy.

Estimated savings and benefits

The Customs programme takes into account the recommendations of the final evaluation of the Customs 2013 programme, which reported a strong EU added value, in particular, regarding the support of the implementation of the EU customs legislation at national level. For example, the electronic systems funded by the programme complemented relevant national initiatives that have led to a significant reduction in costs, which would not have been possible if each Member State had to develop such systems on its own. The programme also helped implement EU legislation more quickly at a lower cost, notably in the area of IT. Without the programme, the Member States would have had to look for bilateral or multilateral approaches, which would have been more costly and slower without a guarantee for having a final common result. In this sense, in line with the impact assessment of the new Customs programme, one euro spent at EU level for the development of a common IT part equals five euro invested at national level.

The proposal considered preliminary results and draft recommendations from the mid-term evaluation of the Customs 2020 programme, which were confirmed in the finalised mid-term evaluation.

They indicated that the programme ensures a strong EU added value and leads to convergence between Member States and with other participating countries. The programme facilitates the implementation of EU legislation, while allowing efficiency gains, e.g. through pooling of resources, especially regarding electronic systems where EU intervention is resulting in economies of scale and reduced costs. The final evaluation of the Customs 2020 programme confirmed these findings and the Customs 2020 programme’s contribution to the functioning and modernisation of the Customs Union and the internal market.

The Customs 2020 applied all simplifications identified in past evaluations, which were taken on board in the new Customs programme that is already very simple and has a strong focus on outputs and results. The main additional simplification identified consists in an extended use of lump sums / unit costs and the possibility to adopt multi-annual work programmes to avoid the annual administrative burden of comitology.

The quantified impact of the programme has not been measured as this is a very complex and resource consuming exercice both for the Member States, which would have to provide the necessary data, and for the Commission, which would have to process and consolidate it. Moreover, this is also very challenging in practice as many of the benefits of the programme are not easily quantified, and even more difficult,monetised.

From a qualitative point of view, the Customs programme’s greatest EU added value lies in supporting all aspects of implementation of the Union customs legislation, which require EU level solutions for common EU level challenges and close cooperation of the Member States in the process of applying uniform rules and support each other in pursuing the Customs Union’s objectives. The programme’s predecessors have proven their effectiveness and efficiency by ensuring the financial sustainability of the interoperable and interconnected European IT Systems, meeting the requirements of the Union Customs Code with greater economies of scale and efficiency. These IT systems would not have been so effective and efficient if attempted to be reproduced at national level.

Similarly, the joint actions supported by the programme have also given the national administrations unique opportunities for cooperation, communication and networking, building trust and leading to greater convergence. Such a level of cooperation would have hardly been achieved at bilateral or other level outside the customs programmes.

It could thus be concluded that none of the programme’s outputs would likely continue beyond the short term if the programme were to be discontinued. The functioning of the Customs Union and further integration of national customs authorities that run it are still wholly dependent on the Customs programme. Without the programmes’ support there are significant risks that the IT systems become obsolete and the achieved economies of scale - lost. In view of the rapid changes and challenges ahead for the Customs Union, the programme’s continuous support is essential.

Outcome of Legislative Procedure

The co-legislators proposed including that the indicators should allow for evaluating the effects of the Programme in a comparable and complete manner. In addition, the co-legislators added that the interim and final evaluations should contribute to the efficient decision-making process concerning cooperation in the field of customs under the next multiannual financial frameworks. The co-legislators requested highlighting in the Regulation that it is therefore of the utmost importance that the interim and final evaluations include satisfactory and sufficient information and that those evaluations are delivered in due time. Furthermore, the co-legislators requested including that in addition to the interim and final evaluations of the Programme, annual progress reports should, as part of the performance reporting system, be issued to monitor the implementation of the Programme. Those reports should include a summary of the lessons learnt and, where appropriate, of the obstacles and shortfalls encountered, in the context of the activities of the Programme that took place in the year in question. Those annual progress reports should be communicated to the European Parliament and to the Council (Recital 20).

The delayed adoption of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 resulted in the late adoption and launch of the Customs programme. As a result, year 2021 was a transition year where both the Customs 2020 and the new Customs programme were applicable. The subsequent late release of the new Customs programme budget in particular put at risk the continuous availability of the European electronic systems for customs. On its side, the Covid-19 pandemic and the related travel and meeting restrictions mostly prevented physical meetings, collaboration via online means remained strong under the programme. Despite these challenges, the Commission was able to ensure that the Programme transitioned smoothly, ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of the European electronic systems for customs, a key element of the Programme.

At the same time, the first two years of implementation of the Customs programme showed the need for the outputs of the Programme’s activities to be more widely disseminated in national administration, particularly at managerial level. This should allow for the Programme to effectively contribute to its objectives in relation to implementation of EU legislation and policy, support to the operational performance and collaboration of customs authorities.

Another issue identified is the need to reinforce the ownership of the Programme by Member States, particularly when it comes to leading collaborative activities, such as expert teams and project groups, in order to facilitate effort sharing when implementing the Programme. Besides, the need to fully exploit the Programme’s potential in the area of innovation, a new objective of the Customs programme compared to its 2020 predecesor, is to be addressed.