Brussels correspondent
Brussels wants to modernise the EU's customs union and is giving itself long years - until 2038... - to achieve the goal. "This is the most ambitious and comprehensive reform since the creation of our customs union in 1968," Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Wednesday.
There is plenty to do indeed. While the EU accounts for 14% of world trade – €4300 billion in 2021 – its customs registered 691.5 million import declarations, 17.5 million transit declarations between Member States and 486.3 million export declarations in 2021. Importers, for their part, have to juggle 27 national authorities and no less than 111 separate IT interfaces, i.e. so many "silos" that hardly communicate with each other. This currently makes it easier for some companies to circumvent the EU's sanctions against Russia. Paolo Gentiloni...
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