EU Customs 2007 : a case study of administrative harmonization

Abstract

While Customs in the Community operates under a common legal framework, its implementation depends on twenty-five national administrations that are called upon to act as if they were one. Customs 2007 programme continues the work of other preceding programmes, to promote the equivalent operational capacity of Customs administrations. This is one of the four main objectives of the Customs 2007 programme, the other three are to protect the interests of the Community, to contribute towards enlargement and trade facilitation. The central theme of this project is to evaluate the progress registered so far by Malta's Customs administration in implementing these objectives. This study was carried out by conducting a review of the literature and by interviewing a number of participants in the programme. According to the information gathered, Malta's Customs administration adhered to these objectives and excelled in providing the necessary protection of Community interests; is on par with administrations of new member states and is also in line in the installation of IT systems with Customs administrations of other participating countries. The main recommendation in this report is that Malta's Customs administration should make full use of participation in Joint Action activities due to the favourable benefits gained.