Report from the Commission to the Council. Progress report further to the Council Conclusions on Customs Cooperation with the Eastern Neighbouring Countries

The purpose of this document is to assess the progress achieved in the priority areas identified by the Council of the European Union in the "Council conclusions on the progress in customs cooperation with the Eastern Neighbouring Countries" adopted in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 28 January 2014.

The three priority areas, namely ‘developing safe and fluid trade lanes’, ‘promoting risk management and the fight against fraud’ and ‘investing in customs modernisation in the region’ were agreed in High-Level Seminars on Customs Cooperation at the Eastern Border of the EU, held in Budapest on 14-15 April 2011 and in Krakow on 20-21 October 2011, and identified in the Council conclusions on the Customs Cooperation with Eastern Neighbouring Countries adopted at the Council meeting in Brussels on 5 December 2011.

In this context, the Council in its conclusions of 28 January 2014 invited the Commission to evaluate, together with the Member States, the progress achieved in the priority areas of customs cooperation with Eastern Neighbouring Countries taking into account, inter alia, the initiatives and best practices of the Member States. The Commission was also invited to report to the Council on this progress, in order for it to propose a follow-up to these actions by the end of 2015.