(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2018)0085),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Articles 33 and 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8‑0097/2018),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 14 February 2019 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A8-0342/2018),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2.  Approves the joint statement by Parliament and the Council annexed to this resolution which will be published in the L series of the Official Journal of the European Union together with the final legislative act;

3.  Takes note of the statement by the Commission annexed to this resolution, which will be published in the L series of the Official Journal of the European Union together with the final legislative act;

4.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2019/632.)

Joint statement by the European Parliament and the Council

The European Parliament and the Council welcome the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report No 26/2018 entitled `A series of delays in Customs IT systems: what went wrong?´ and other recent relevant reports in the area of customs, which have given the co-legislators a better overview of the causes for the delays in the implementation of the IT systems necessary for improving customs operations in the EU.

The European Parliament and the Council consider that any future audit by the European Court of Auditors assessing the reports prepared by the Commission on the basis of Article 278a of the Union Customs Code could positively contribute to the avoidance of further delays.

The European Parliament and the Council call on the Commission and the Member States to take full account of such audits.

Statement by the Commission

The Commission welcomes the agreement by the European Parliament and the Council on the proposal to prolong the deadline for the transitional use of means other than the electronic data- processing techniques provided for in the Union Customs Code.

The Commission acknowledges the joint statement of the European Parliament and of the Council which notes that any future work by the European Court of Auditors assessing the reports prepared by the Commission on the basis of Article 278a of the Union Customs Code could positively contribute to the avoidance of further delays.

Should the Court of Auditors decide to assess the Commission's reports, the Commission will, as required by Article 287(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, fully collaborate with the European Court of Auditors and take full account of such findings.