EU evaluates cargo security rules

EU evaluates cargo security rules    The European Union council working group on customs has held its first meeting on the proposed amendment of the European customs code and the introduction of enhanced cargo security rules.
   Alfred Komaz, principal advisor at the European Commission, told the World Customs and Exhibition Forum in Budapest that the European rules on container security would differ from the U.S. Container Security Initiative (CSI) rules, while following some of the same principles.
   Komaz said three sets of measures proposed by the European Commission in July are under consideration: proposals on the role of customs administrations in the management of the EU’s external borders; an amendment of the EU customs code; and a proposal on “a simple and paperless environment for customs and trade.”
   “A key element of all actions will be the pre-arrival/departure information on cargo, however, not in the form of a 24-hour rule as applied by the U.S.,” the European Commission official said. The 24-hour deadline “does not look practical in the European context, with our long land borders and short sea crossing,” he added.
   For trade with countries outside the EU, exporters will be required to provide customs with information on the cargoes 24 hours before the goods are presented at the customs office of export, according to the European Commission proposal.
   “The industry has asked for waivers for certain types of cargoes and certain types of trades,” Komaz said, adding that industry is worried about the pre-arrival and pre-departure deadlines.
   The European Commission expects that such exceptions could be granted in its implementing rules on customs.
   The European Commission is aware that the new set of rules “is not going to simplify life for operators, at least not in the beginning,” Komaz said.
   He could not comment on the expected duration of the approval process, but warned that pending elections at the European Parliament could slow the legislative process.
   On average, European Commission proposals take about a year and a half to get past the council and the parliament. Komaz stressed that the nature of the security issues should speed up the political process.
   Unlike the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection measures under CSI, the European Commission does not favor the stationing of customs officials in other countries to identify high-risk shipments, because this absorbs too many resources.
   “We will, therefore, have to restrict immediate action to our own territory and to our own borders,” Komaz said.
   Yet, the European Commission believes that cooperation between exporting and importing countries is required to enhance cargo security.
   Komaz reiterated the European Commission’s view that there should be a harmonized regime for security rules concerning exports and imports throughout Europe.
   After individual EU countries signed bilateral agreements with U.S. on container security, the European Commission vented its disapproval and cited concerns over discrimination between its member countries’ trade with the United States.
   In March, the European Commission obtained a mandate to negotiate a pan-EU agreement with the United States.
   Komaz reported that the contacts between the EU and the United States on such an agreement “are on-going and on good track,” but he provided no information on the expected time of their completion.
   “We are facing the usual legal and formal problems but, once these are solved, it should be possible to conclude the agreement rapidly,” he added.