The 19th European Customs Law Conference organised by SITPRO's sister organisation in Germany, Europäisches Forum für Aussenwirtschaft, Verbrauchsteuren und Zoll E.V. (EFA) took place over 21 and 22 June 2007 in Hamburg. This major annual conference regularly attracts the participation of around 300 people from business, the European Commission, governments and academia across Europe and beyond.
Speakers at the EFA Conference
SITPRO was represented by Director of Policy Graham Bartlett, who took part in a panel discussion on the global roll out of the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade and the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) concept. Other panel members included the World Customs Organisation, European Commission and representatives of the German, Austrian and Swiss Customs Authorities, as well as US, Dutch and French business interests.
Against a preoccupation among the speakers with the European Union AEO scheme, Graham stressed SITPRO's long held view that security and facilitation should be seen as different sides of the same coin and that, while no-one doubted the sovereign right of countries to secure the safety of their citizens, the measures adopted should be proportionate to the risk and not impede legitimate trade unnecessarily.
While SAFE helpfully established that facilitation should go hand in hand with security, many businesses already enjoyed the sort of facilitations that SAFE suggested should be seen as the benefits of becoming an AEO. Moreover, variances in national implementation and the introduction of specific national criteria risked the one real potential benefit arising from SAFE, global mutual recognition of AEO standards and status.
In a last minute addition to the agenda on the second day, Graham was provided the welcome opportunity to present SITPRO's alternative vision for European Customs reform "Putting European Competitiveness at the Heart of 21st Century Electronic Trading" which was warmly received by the business participants. The report, published earlier this year, can be read at http://www.sitpro.org.uk/reports/eurcompet.pdf and is also available in a German translation.
Return to SITPRO News: Issue 61, Summer 2007
