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Brussels lays out Single Window plans

[ October 28, 2020   //   Chris ]

The European Commission has set out an EU Single Window Environment for Customs initiative to make it easier for different authorities involved in goods clearance to exchange electronic information submitted by traders
It aims to enhance cooperation and coordination between different authorities, in order to facilitate automatic verification of non-customs formalities for goods entering or leaving the EU.
The Single Window aims to digitalise and streamline processes, so that businesses will ultimately no longer have to submit documents to several authorities through different portals. The Commission says it is the first concrete deliverable of the recently adopted Action Plan to modernise border controls over the coming decade.
Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said the proposal was “the first step towards a fully paperless and integrated customs environment and better cooperation between all authorities at our external borders. I urge all Member States to play their part in making it a true success story.”
Currently, the formalities required at the EU’s external borders often involve many different authorities in charge of different policy areas, such as health and safety, the environment, agriculture, fisheries, cultural heritage and market surveillance and product compliance. Businesses have to submit information to several different authorities, each with their own portal and procedures.

Tags: European Commission