February 27, 2024 European Union | First vote on EU customs reform
On 22 February 2024, the European Union (EU)'s Internal Market Committee adopted its position on the EU Customs Code reform that will restructure the way customs authorities work in the EU.1 The proposed reforms include: (i) a new approach to e-commerce for goods coming from outside the EU, (ii) more efficient customs checks and targeted controls and (iii) a new EU DataHub for the submission of information to EU customs authorities. The EU Customs Code reform The EU Commission presented the EU Customs Code reform proposal in May 2023. The package contains three separate legal acts:
The EU Parliament acts as a co-legislator on the first act. The proposed reform aims to relieve customs authorities that have come under pressure due to the exponential growth of e-commerce and many new product standards, bans, obligations and sanctions that the EU has put in place in recent years. The proposed reforms include:
Members of the European Parliament endorsed the Commission's proposal while amending it to further simplify procedures,2 clarifying data processing and accessibility, creating a platform for whistleblowers, making the new EU DataHub available earlier than proposed, facilitating trade and lessening associated burdens, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. Next steps Now that the committee has adopted the draft report, an upcoming plenary session of the European Parliament (most likely in March) will review and vote on the report; this will constitute Parliament's position at first reading. The file on the draft report will be followed up by the new Parliament after the European elections in early June 2024.
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