Ausführliche Sitzungsberichte

Montag, 7. Juni 2021 - Straßburg

22. Schaffung eines Instruments für finanzielle Hilfe für Zollkontrollausrüstung (Aussprache)

  Πρόεδρος. – Το επόμενο σημείο στην ημερήσια διάταξη είναι η συζήτηση επί της σύστασης για τη δεύτερη ανάγνωση της Επιτροπής Εσωτερικής Αγοράς και Προστασίας των Καταναλωτών, σχετικά με τη θέσπιση του μέσου χρηματοδοτικής στήριξης για τον εξοπλισμό τελωνειακών ελέγχων (07234/1/2021 - C9-0196/2021 - 2018/0258(COD)) (Εισηγητής: Jiří Pospíšil (A9-0196/2021).

Εξ ονόματος του κυρίου Pospíšil θα μιλήσει ο κύριος Schwab, ως εισηγητής.

  Andreas Schwab, deputising for the rapporteur. – Mr President, it’s my pleasure today to represent our colleague, Jiří Pospíšil, who was the rapporteur on the proposal for a regulation establishing, as part of the Integrated Border Management Fund, the instrument for financial support for customs control equipment. I’m also here, as EPP coordinator, to thank him for his excellent work, together with colleagues on the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO).

Im letzten Jahr hat sich gezeigt, wie wichtig funktionierende Zollkontrollen sind, als unsichere Masken und falsche Desinfektionsmittel in die Europäische Union gespült wurden. Solche Waren dürfen in Europa nicht verkauft werden, weil der Verbraucher und die Verbraucherin im Einzelnen nicht in der Lage wäre zu sehen, welche Mittel korrekt oder nicht korrekt hergestellt wurden. Deswegen brauchen wir Kontrollen in der Europäischen Union, die sicherstellen, dass der Markt zuverlässig ist.

Angesichts der Tatsache, dass nur sechs von 27 Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union überhaupt Einnahmen aus dem Zoll generieren können, gibt es ein Bedürfnis, alle Zollbehörden aller Mitgliedstaaten in vergleichbaren Situationen handlungsfähig zu halten. Deswegen hat die Europäische Kommission vorgeschlagen, hier mit finanziellen Mitteln einen Ausgleich zu schaffen, damit die Kontrollen mit dem technischen Gerät vorgenommen werden können, das notwendig ist.

Natürlich gehört darüber hinaus auch die Digitalisierung zum Inventar, das die Zollabwicklung vereinfacht. Und hier hängen die Mitgliedstaaten seit mehr als 15 Jahren hinterher. Wir brauchen aber auch die Digitalisierung. Wir haben es bei den Diskussionen zwischen dem Vereinigten Königreich und Nordirland gesehen, wie wir nach wie vor nicht in der Lage sind, digitale Zollabwicklung vorzunehmen.

Deswegen wünsche ich mir, Herr Kommissar, dass die Europäische Kommission die jetzt freigegebenen Mittel dazu nutzt, auch in die Digitalisierung zu investieren und dafür zu sorgen, dass zwischen allen Mitgliedstaaten und allen Zollbehörden ein vergleichbares Niveau an technischer und digitaler Verfügbarkeit von Infrastrukturen vorhanden ist, damit wir gemeinsam dafür sorgen können, dass der europäische Binnenmarkt der sicherste Markt in der Welt bleibt.

  Virginijus Sinkevičius, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I am delighted to be here today and to take part in this debate on the future instrument for customs control equipment. The Commission welcomes the outcome of the negotiations, including the agreed budget of EUR 1 billion in the context of the multiannual financial framework negotiations, and of course I would like to thank in particular the rapporteur, Jiří Pospíšil, for his strong support and major contribution to the successful compromise that we have on the table today.

Customs officers at the external borders of the European Union need to be properly equipped in order to ensure the functioning of the Customs Union. The need for adequate and equivalent customs control is ever more pressing, given the increasing role played by customs to ensure the safety and security of the Union. Risks and threats to the security of the Union and its financial and economic interests have progressively increased and new ones have emerged during the recent years.

The surge in e-commerce, increasing digitalisation and the need to improve resilience to cyberattacks have also increased demand for effective customs control in order to prevent the diversion of flows of goods towards the weakest points in the customs control system, often referred to as ‘import point shopping’.

Let me thus highlight the importance of the CCEI: the first funding instrument entirely dedicated to strengthening Member States’ capacities to perform customs control. It comes as a response to the calls from the Member States and the European Parliament for a structured solution to provide national customs administrations with adequate and effective technical equipment for controlling goods entering and leaving the EU. It will ultimately improve and harmonise the quality of the customs controls. An important element of the CCEI is that it shall clearly demonstrate EU added value.

The CCEI will be implemented in two stages. In the first stage as a short-term approach the existing performance gaps like missing equipment or deficiencies in the control capacities related to clearly identified needs at the border crossing points and customs laboratories shall be filled in. This will contribute to achieving adequate customs controls across the Union. In the second stage as a long-term vision we will aim to achieve equivalent levels of customs controls. This will happen through common definitions of customs controls from an equipment perspective where definitely greater standardisation is needed. For that, the Commission will propose common standards related to the optimal use of equipment. What equipment should be available, where, how to use it, what is the optimal equipment from a performance perspective, the optimal coverage of customs risks and threats with the equipment, etc.

In this context, I want to stress that the equipment purchased under any of the two-step phases will need to be interoperable and information will need to be easily exchangeable across all EU Member States customs. In order to reach the ambitious policy objective, the CCEI will collect and analyse data to be able to comprehensively map the equipment readiness of all Member States. This will feed into the overall vision of improved customs controls. Data analysis will be available at a level that previously did not exist within the Customs Union.

Without further delay, the Commission services are ready to implement the instrument that will contribute to the shared long-term aim of harmonised application of customs controls. And our work does not stop there. We need to be holistic. The Commission will provide strong responses beyond the CCEI to the recent European Court of Auditors report which highlights as well the insufficient harmonisation of customs control. We will come up with a proposal to reinforce the legal framework, a new risk management strategy and joint analytics capabilities within OLAF and BUDG.

The European Parliament is also well aware of our work on the single—window environment for customs on which we need to progress quickly.

As you see, there is a lot that can be done at EU level and of course I count on your support to continue pushing Member States to take their share of responsibility in this overall ambition of customs control modernisation. I would love to hear your views and I look forward to a fruitful debate.

  Antonius Manders, namens de PPE-Fractie. – Voorzitter, commissaris, dank u wel voor de uitnodiging om een levendig debat te voeren over dit belangrijke onderwerp. Waarom is dit een belangrijk onderwerp? Omdat de interne markt het belangrijkste is wat wij in de Europese Unie hebben. Daar hangt onze economie van af en via die economie kunnen we ook een evenwicht creëren.

Het is goed dat we met financiële middelen de douane helpen om de zwakkere partners in de havens her en der te ondersteunen en om een gelijk speelveld te krijgen, ook op douaneniveau, zodat we illegale en vaak gevaarlijke producten van buiten de Unie, die dan op de interne markt kunnen belanden, tegen kunnen houden, wat vervolgens ook nog een oneerlijke concurrentie tegengaat. Dus positief over dit stuk.

Maar daarmee zijn we er nog niet. We moeten nadenken over hoe we dat op middellange of lange termijn kunnen verbeteren en daar heb ik twee voorstellen voor. Ten eerste moeten we gevaarlijke illegale goederen buiten de Europese interne markt houden, maar ook drugs, want die komen van alle kanten binnen. Een mogelijkheid is het opzetten van een soort elektronisch sleepnet, waardoor we de goederenstromen in heel Europa kunnen volgen zodat we de illegale goederen bij de grens, in de havens, kunnen tegenhouden. Maar als dat niet kan, dan moeten we wel weten waar ze dan naartoe gaan. En op dit moment weten we dat niet.

Ten tweede, en dat is misschien wellicht het belangrijkste, en hier wil ik mee eindigen, Frontex is opgetuigd om de grenzen te bewaken en dat is met name vanwege de vluchtelingencrisis. Het zou heel goed zijn als we een soort Frontex opzetten dat de lidstaten gaat helpen met het opsporen van illegale import en het tegenhouden van drugs, om zodoende een sterke interne markt te creëren.

  Adriana Maldonado López, en nombre del Grupo S&D. – Señor presidente, la unión aduanera de la Unión Europea se ha convertido en una de las piedras angulares de nuestro mercado único al mantener la seguridad de las fronteras de la Unión Europea y también proteger a nuestros ciudadanos europeos frente a las mercancías prohibidas y peligrosas como son las armas, las drogas o los productos falsificados. Pero también frente a contratiempos como los medioambientales, las cuestiones relacionadas con la salud, etcétera.

En 2019 las aduanas de la Unión Europea interceptaron mercancías falsas y potencialmente peligrosas por valor de 760 000 millones de euros. Si analizamos qué tipo de productos falsificados entraban por nuestras fronteras, principalmente encontramos cigarrillos, relojes falsificados, juguetes o ropa. Y, sin duda alguna, el país que más productos incautados tuvo fue China.

Por eso, creo que es importante que este instrumento financiero esté presupuestado con más de mil millones de euros en el marco financiero plurianual 2021-2027 y consideramos además que ha de tener un carácter retroactivo, porque es fundamental que tenga en cuenta dos cuestiones importantes que se mencionan en el informe.

En primer lugar, asegurar un nivel equivalente de control en todas las fronteras de la Unión Europea. De nada sirve que tengamos aduanas totalmente diferenciadas o con estándares diferenciados que lleven a las empresas a intentar entrar por unos puertos o por otros.

Y, en segundo lugar, permitir que las autoridades aduaneras de los Estados miembros puedan financiar la compra, el mantenimiento y la mejora de los equipos de controles aduaneros.

Es importante, y el informe lo resalta, que apostemos por la digitalización de todas nuestras aduanas. Es importante también que a lo largo de toda la unión aduanera evitemos que haya puntos débiles de la Unión Europea y contemos con unos productos más seguros en nuestro mercado interior que cumplan con la normativa europea. Porque de eso dependen también la vida y el día a día de muchísimos ciudadanos europeos.

Simplemente quiero resaltar el valor importante que tienen las aduanas en el mercado único y en el día a día de todos los ciudadanos europeos. Este informe lo que hace es apostar por unas aduanas más seguras, unas aduanas más digitalizadas y unas aduanas que miren por el futuro de los ciudadanos europeos.

  Vlad-Marius Botoş, în numele grupului Renew. – Domnule președinte, domnule comisar, stimați colegi, mulțumesc raportorului și mulțumesc și lui Andreas Schwab pentru prezentarea acestui raport, tocmai pentru că o piață unică europeană nu poate funcționa fără a se asigura că produsele puse la dispoziția consumatorului nu-i pun în pericol. Armonizarea legislației și cerințelor pentru mărfurile produse în interiorul Uniunii Europene trebuie însoțită de o armonizare a controlului mărfurilor intrate în piața unică europeană, produse în țări terțe. Pentru aceasta este necesar să ne asigurăm că vămile au la dispoziție echipamente eficiente, iar modalitățile de control de pe întreg teritoriul Uniunii sunt armonizate.

Dotarea cu echipamente moderne, softuri adecvate, interoperabile, în toate punctele de intrare a mărfurilor din Uniunea Europeană este o condiție sine qua non pentru a asigura un grad ridicat de siguranță a pieței unice. Condițiile și regulile comune pentru verificarea mărfurilor din statele membre atrag după sine o mai mare predictibilitate în transportul de bunuri și elimină orele sau chiar zilele de așteptare la frontierele între statele membre, cum este cazul frontierei pe care chiar astăzi am tranzitat-o, dintre România și Ungaria, unde coada de tiruri era din nou de câțiva kilometri.

O altă provocare pentru sistemul de vămi este afluxul mare de produse care intră pe piața unică europeană prin intermediul pieței digitale. Dacă ne gândim la milioanele de produse ajunse la consumatori pe această cale, ne dăm seama că suma de aproximativ un miliard de euro, stabilită împreună cu Consiliul, pentru echipamente de verificare vamală este doar un pas și nu o soluție completă la provocările cu care ne confruntăm.

  Anna Cavazzini, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, some people may think that customs policy is boring or not relevant for their lives, but the contrary is true. The internal market can only keep up its high product standards and the trust the consumers place in those with a strong customs control regime. The EU imports hundreds of thousands of products every day and the custom controls guarantee that the EU’s high food hygiene or safety standards are not undermined. That is why it is good that we found an agreement on the customs control equipment, because customs need to be adequately funded and equipped.

For the future of the EU customs policy, I find the following points crucial. First, we need to tackle new challenges and we have to take them into account – like, for example, more e—commerce, where sometimes product standards are undermined. Second, we need better coordination between market surveillance authorities and to enhance their role as additional action. And third, we need to adapt now to upcoming legislation, like mandatory due diligence or deforestation, free supply chains, and make sure that customs authorities are well equipped to enforce that.

  Carlo Fidanza, a nome del gruppo ECR. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, la competitività delle nostre aziende e la tutela dei consumatori dipendono fortemente dalla capacità di reazione delle autorità preposte al contrasto delle violazioni dei diritti di proprietà intellettuale e della commercializzazione delle merci contraffatte.

Inoltre, la frode doganale sottrae fondi ai bilanci pubblici e, data la sua natura transnazionale, richiede una forte cooperazione tra le amministrazioni degli Stati membri. Sosteniamo quindi l'iniziativa di dedicare risorse finanziarie destinate all'acquisto e l'utilizzo di nuove e più avanzate attrezzature per il controllo doganale.

Lo strumento finanziario che sarà messo a disposizione degli Stati membri deriva dalla sempre più urgente necessità di rafforzare significativamente il controllo delle merci nel momento in cui esse entrano attraverso le frontiere dell'Unione, al fine di garantirne la sicurezza. Queste merci devono essere sicure e rispettose delle stesse normative dell'Unione europea che le nostre aziende sono tenute a rispettare per poter mettere in commercio i propri prodotti.

È apprezzabile anche l'intenzione di sostenere il raggiungimento di un livello adeguato e uniforme in tutti i paesi dell'Unione. Ciò consentirà di concretizzare i vantaggi dell'Unione doganale, fornendo ulteriori sostegni alle autorità doganali nella loro azione congiunta a tutela degli interessi degli Stati membri e del mercato unico.

  Beata Mazurek (ECR). – Panie Przewodniczący! Panie Komisarzu! Skuteczna ochrona granicy zewnętrznej Unii Europejskiej, zwłaszcza wobec nowych i nasilających się zagrożeń, to nasz wspólny obowiązek i nasza odpowiedzialność, a nie tylko państw granicznych. Służby celne odgrywają zasadniczą rolę w kontroli przepływu towarów na granicy zewnętrznej, a także dbają o ochronę interesów gospodarczych i bezpieczeństwo obywateli. W pełnieniu tych zadań powinny uzyskać wsparcie podobne do tego, jakie od lat otrzymują inne służby graniczne i policyjne.

Projekt rozporządzenia wychodzi naprzeciw wieloletnim, konsekwentnie formułowanym przez Polskę i szereg państw członkowskich postulatom o wsparcie finansowe na wyposażenie w sprzęt kontrolny. Wdrażanie instrumentu w istotny sposób przyczyni się do odpowiednich i równoważnych wyników kontroli celnych poprzez zakup, konserwację i modernizację sprzętu, co jednoznacznie przełoży się na wzmocnienie bezpieczeństwa nas wszystkich. I na tym powinno nam zależeć.

  Virginijus Sinkevičius, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, once again let me warmly thank you for organising this important and timely debate on the instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (CCE). I have heard some excellent suggestions and comments that the Commission will definitely take on board when implementing the instrument.

The agreement that was found on this important instrument is excellent news. The CCE will play a key role in ensuring greater uniformity and adequacy, and improve results in the performance of customs control at the external borders. The programme will offer a valuable instrument to support the Member States in ensuring that customs authorities act as one in protecting the interests of the Union. Thus, it will contribute to the overall cohesion between Member States.

I take once again the opportunity to thank Parliament for the constructive approach and for the outcome of the negotiations. The Commission looks forward to continuing the fruitful cooperation with the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

  Πρόεδρος. – Η συζήτηση έληξε.