Ukraine and the EU start bilateral meetings within the framework of the screening on the Customs Union

On 10 April, bilateral meetings between the delegations of Ukraine and the European Commission started in Brussels, Belgium, within the framework of the official screening of the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU law under Section 29 Customs Union, belonging to Cluster 3 Competitiveness and Inclusive Development.

In her speech, Olha Stefanishyna, Chief Negotiator and Head of the Delegation, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice, stressed that over the past year, Ukraine has made key steps to bring its legislation closer to the EU.

"The recent assessments under the relevant section, including those presented in the European Commission's 2024 Enlargement Report, show that Ukraine has one of the highest scores in this area. The transformation of Ukrainian institutions responsible for customs regulation continues in order to fully comply with EU standards," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

According to her, a number of key decisions have already been implemented as part of the process: in particular, on 1 October 2022, Ukraine became a full party to the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure and the Convention on the Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods. Ukraine has launched the international application of the NCTS (New Computerised Transit System) and has already successfully moved to Phase 5 of the NCTS, becoming one of the first 20 countries to introduce the system.

"We are switching to European formats: the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) system, simplification within the NCTS, as well as new procedures that allow all reliable entrepreneurs (not just AEOs) to enjoy the benefits of customs clearance. This is an important signal for Ukrainian and foreign companies that Ukraine's legal framework is stable, predictable and focused on further integration," Olha Stefanishyna emphasised.

She also informed her European colleagues that the Law of Ukraine on the Criminalisation of Smuggling of Excisable Goods came into force on 1 January 2024, and the Law on the Criminalisation of Smuggling of Goods came into force on 1 July 2024.

"After the screening meetings and the preparation of the report on the relevant Cluster, we sincerely hope for its early opening. This will allow us to move on to the next stage - the adaptation of national legislation, to ensure Ukraine's readiness for integration into the Customs Union," Olha Stefanishyna said.

The meeting also featured Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine for European Integration Yuriy Draganchuk, Deputy Head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Vladyslav Suvorov, Director of the Customs Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine Oleksandr Moskalenko and Acting Deputy Head of the Department for Strategic Development and Anti-Corruption Activities of the Department for Prevention and Detection of Corruption of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Yuriy Zanik.

During the session on 10 April, the Ukrainian side presented the current state of Ukrainian legislation on the following issues:

• National Customs Service and national capacities;
• Cooperation and communication;
• General principles of customs legislation;
• Obligations and rights of persons under customs legislation;
• Risk management and customs control;
• Factors on the basis of which measures are applied to goods (tariff, origin, value); Customs debt and guarantees.

The following issues will be discussed at the meeting on 11 April:

• Importation of goods into the customs territory;
• Placement of goods under the customs regime;
• Customs procedures for import;
• Special customs procedures;
• Export of goods outside the customs territory;
• Control over compliance with the legislation on non-customs matters;
• Mutual administrative assistance in customs matters;
• Anti-corruption measures.