EU instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (2021–2027)

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2021/1077 establishing, as part of the Integrated Border Management Fund, the instrument for financial support for customs control equipment

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It establishes a fund to support European Union (EU) Member States in the purchase, maintenance and upgrading of customs control equipment.
It sets out the general and specific objectives and the size, form and rules of EU funding from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027 – the period covered by the current multiannual financial framework.

KEY POINTS

The fund’s general objectives are to support customs authorities’ efforts to:

protect EU and national financial and economic interests;
ensure security and safety within the EU;
protect the EU from illegal trade;
facilitate legitimate business activity.

The fund’s specific objective is to contribute to adequate and equivalent customs controls by purchasing, maintaining and upgrading state-of-the-art customs control equipment that is reliable, secure, safe and environmentally friendly.

The budget for the 7-year fund is €1,006,407,000 (current prices). The financing may be used for preparation, monitoring, control, audit, evaluation and other activities, including legitimate expenses such as information technology networks.

To be eligible for funding, activities must:

implement the regulation’s general and specific aims;
support the purchase, maintenance or upgrading of equipment, such as X-ray scanners and automated number plate detection systems (Annex I provides an indicative list of items), that serves one or more of the following purposes:
- non-intrusive inspection,
- indication of hidden objects on humans,
- radiation detection and nuclide identification,
- analysis of laboratory samples,
- sampling and field analysis,
- handheld search.

Eligible costs

The fund may finance up to 80% of total eligible costs.

The following are not eligible:

land purchase;
training or upgrading skills, apart from introductory training;
infrastructure, such as buildings, furniture and outdoor facilities;
electronic systems apart from software, programming and updates necessary for the use or interlinking of the equipment;
networks or subscriptions, unless necessary for the use of the equipment;
transport, such as vehicles, aircraft or ships, except for mobile customs control equipment;
personal protective equipment.

Recipients of the fund’s support must acknowledge the origin and ensure the visibility of the financing.

The European Commission :

adopts implementing acts to establish work programmes for each of the fund’s activities;
adopts delegated acts to amend as necessary the list of indicators (Annex II), such as customs control equipment at different land, sea, air and postal borders, to measure progress made towards the different objectives;
undertakes regular evaluations, with an interim one no later than 4 years after the start of the fund and a final one by the end of 2031. It sends these, along with its comments, to the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 2021.

BACKGROUND

The customs control equipment fund is one component of the EU’s integrated border management fund; the other is the border management and visa instrument set up under Regulation (EU) 2021/1148 (see summary). The first relates to checks on goods, the second to checks on people.

The fund contributes to implementing the customs action plan adopted in September 2020 and to the customs programme (2021–2027) set up under Regulation (EU) 2021/444 (see summary).

For further information, see:

Customs control equipment instrument (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2021/1077 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 establishing, as part of the Integrated Border Management Fund, the instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (OJ L 234, 2.7.2021, pp. 1–17).