1. Slovenian experiences on its way to the EU Brane Gregorič Guatemala, 1- 2 March 2010

2. Content: Background Joining the EU - overview
Harmonization of Customs legislation
Building administrative capacity
Lessons learnt

3. Slovenia
GDP per capita 2008: EUR

4. General about Slovenia:
Area: 20,273 km2
Population: 2 mio
Capital city: Ljubljana
Language: Slovene; in nationally mixed areas, also Italian and Hungarian
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Important dates:
Independence - 25 June 1991,
Member of EU - 1 May 2004
Schengen – 1. January 2008

5. Import and export of Slovenia to EU 1999 – 2008; 000 €

6. Timeline of Slovenia's integration in the EU
1993 – EU – Slovenia Cooperation Agreement
June 1996 – signing of Association Agreement
April 1998 – beginning of accession negotiations
December 2002 – conclusion of negotiations
April 2003 – signing of Accession Treaty
May 2004 – Slovenia becomes a member of the EU

7. EU enlargements

8. Accession negotiations: Chapters

9. Negotiations Customs was involved in several areas of negotiations:
Customs Union
Justice and Home Affairs
Taxation
Agriculture
Statistics
International relations
Budget ...

10. Joining EU - general
Lot of time and efforts needed (expertise, political will, public support….)
8 years from application to membership
Joining the club and its rules!!!
Old members have some inherited privileges

11. Constraints of joining EU Customs Union
A new member has to adopt existing legislation and any amendments to this legislation without having any say in the matter
By adopting Common Customs Policy, the member state entrusts its sovereignty in this area to common institutions.
Bilateral trade agreements are no longer possible.

12. The EU Customs Union A Customs Union in line with Art. XXIV GATT:
- A single customs territory
- An external common customs tariff
- Free movement of goods and identical rules of origin (no tariff or non-tariff barriers)
Beyond the GATT
- The common customs tariff as a cornerstone of a common commercial policy
- The free movement of goods as a basis for a single market
- Border controls between members eliminated

13. EU Customs legislation
The EU customs legislation includes:
- Community Customs Code and its Implementing Provisions
- Common Customs Tariff and Duty Relief legislation
- International customs agreements or customs provisions contained in international agreements
The EU does NOT include:
- Residual national rules for the implementation of the Community customs legislation
- National rules on customs administrative organisation and operational actions
- National rules on customs penalties
- Individual customs decisions

14. Legislation - role of Customs
active participation in negotiation working groups
comparison of EU legislation (acquis) with national legislation
involvement in transposition of acquis into national legislation and ratification of EU conventions
involvement in translation process of EU legislation into national language
preparation of operational guidelines, working instructions etc.
building appropriate administrative capacity

15. European Commision (DG TAXUD) Pre-accession strategy
The political commitment to enable customs to fulfil their tasks
Creation of the necessary legal framework
Creation of the operational capacity of customs
Creating common standards based on best practice

16. Sharing the EU expertise
“Customs blueprints”
Created in 1998; revised in 2007
Practical guidelines for Customs Administrations to measure their own operational capacities and to prepare and implement a strategy for customs reform
Based on EU best practices

17. Creation of Blueprints - 1998
Areas (13)
Legislation
Organization and Management
Communication
Ethics
Training
Revenue Collection
Border & Inland Control
Investigation & Enforcement
Customs Laboratories
Infrastructure and equipment
Trade facilitation & relations with trade
Transit & movement of goods
Computerization
National
Reform
plans
Aims
Objectives
Indicators
Gap&Need
Analysis
Technical assistance
Phare/Tacis
Customs 2000/07
Eurocustoms
EU MS

18. EU Best standards (“Customs Blueprints”)
Content of the Blueprints includes:
Areas outside of the strict customs legislation but that are relevant to ensure efficient and competent customs authorities such as organisation and management, HR management, customs ethics, internal audit, etc.;
Major indicators on implementation of some concepts (example border and inland control)
Major indicators on working methods (example: customs laboratories, infrastructure and equipment)

19. Summary of the programme
Customs Blueprints
Gap Analysis
Needs Analysis
Activity list
BCMP

20. Gap analysis of Customs Blueprints
Comparison with the standard described in the relevant blueprint
For each individual key indicator a) description of the current situation b) gaps divided into two parts: - technical shortfalls - behavioral shortfalls

21. Need analysis Based on the outcome of the gap analysis
To determine what needs to be done to bring performance in each customs functional area up to the standard described in the relevant blueprint
Solutions to close the gap and meet the need objective are identified. The final outcome is an activity list.

22. Building operational capacity of Slovenian customs service
EC Customs Blueprints gap and need analysis
Development Strategy of Customs service till accession to the EU
Legislative and organizational changes
new powers
new areas of competence (CAP, Intrastat, Sugar levies, …)
decentralization
Human resources management
Training (internal, external)
IT development
Preparation for the “D day”

23. Lesons learnt “Long distance run” - the process takes several years
Integral overwhelming project - all parts of administration are included/affected
“Steering is more important than rowing!” - it is important to have a good overview and co-ordination of all activities in the area of harmonization
You are never 100% ready

24. Thank you for your attention!
Brane Gregorič
Head of Director General's Office
Customs Administration of the Republic of Slovenia
Šmartinska 55, SI-1523 Ljubljana
tel: ; fax: