News
10/20/2022 09:18
In Brussels, the explanatory meetings of Cluster 3, "Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth" continue, and Chapter 29, "Customs Union" was also on today's agenda.
- In the past years, we worked on harmonizing our national legislation with the European one, but also on strengthening the operational and technical capacity of the Customs Administration. We are satisfied that the latest Report of the European Commission recognizes this and that the political will and commitment in the implementation of the reform agenda is yielding results, said Deputy Prime Minister Maricik.
As a revolutionary step forward in customs operations and one of the biggest achievements of the Customs Administration, Deputy Prime Minister Maricik indicated the digitization of customs operations and fully electronic functioning of the administration, i.e. the implementation of the new system for customs declarations and excise processing, which is fully in accordance with international data exchange standards and EU rules defined in this area.
The director of the Customs Administration, Slavica Kutirov, was also present at the explanatory screening meeting, along with representatives from this institution. She said at the meeting that it is an honour that they can give their contribution, but at the same time they are aware of the responsibility they have in this complex and important process for all of us.
- In the last decade, the Customs Administration has been fully committed to complying with the rules and procedures of the EU Customs Union, and our new Development Action Plan includes activities and projects that are in line with the recommendations of the last EU Progress Report, and include further harmonization of customs legislation, improvement of integrity standards, fight against corruption, as well as projects for further digitization in accordance with the Multi-Year Strategic Plan of the EU - MASP", said director Slavica Kutirov.
Regarding the customs legislation, Maricik said that work is being done to fully align the new Customs Code with the new EU Customs Code and that the Customs Administration has adopted a new ICT Development Strategy 2021-2025 and an Action Plan for interconnection and interoperability with EU systems.
As for the facilitation of trade, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the concept of authorized economic operator was implemented, whereby 23 companies received the status of authorized economic operator, and he also mentioned the newly built customs terminals at the main border crossings with Serbia and Albania, the "ONE STOP SHOP" concept.
Two explanatory meetings were held today for Chapters 20 and 29, i.e. "Enterprises and Industrial Policy" and "Customs Union", which are part of Cluster 3.
Bilateral meetings for Chapter 20 will be held on May 31 and June 1, 2023, while for Chapter 29, on June 7 and 8 next year.
Tomorrow concludes the explanatory screening process for Cluster 3 with meetings on Chapter 16 "Taxation" and Chapter 25 "Science and Research".