the EU commission anticipates the package "blue belt" in order to simplify the customs formalities of the ships



Today the EU commission, with the communication "the blue belt: an only space of the marine transport", it has introduced two proposals in order to simplify within the 2015 customs formality of the ships being modified the current dispositions of application of the communitarian customs code, proposals - it has specified Brussels - that they go hand in hand with the re-examination of adopted harbour politics 23rd May that aimed to promote the competitiveness of the European marine ports and to free of the increase potentialities ( on 23 May 2013).

The first proposal inside previews a simplification of the customs formalities for the marine traffic of the European Union through the potenziamento of the simplified customs procedures of which they can already benefit the navigation companies that they carry out services of line in the EU and that they transport mainly goods of communitarian origin. For being able to have use of such procedures currently the operator it must satisfy determined conditions: the ships can only commute between ports of the EU following a which predetermined route and are necessary a pre-emptive authorization. In order to ulteriorly simplify the regime of the line service, last month the EU commission has subordinate to the examination of the competent committee a modification of the enforced dispositions of application of the customs code. The modification regards the reduction of the times of authorization, abbreviando ulteriorly to 15 days the period of consultation between Member States, and the extension to the future ports of port of call (currently - it has explained the Commission - the operator who asks the authorization to operate line services must specify the Member States interested from the service and, if successively he decides to extend it to another Member States, must proceed to another consultation. To allow with the petitioners to indicate the Member States potentially interested in advance in future, besides that effectively covered from the service, would afford to save time at the moment of the business decision).

The second proposal previews a simplification of the customs formalities for the ships that call in the ports of Third-country. Remembering that almost 90% of the ships transport goods it is unionali that extraunionali and often ago port of call in ports of the EU and Third-country, for example Norway, Countries of the North Africa and Russia, the EU commission has explained that for these ships it is previewed to improve in meaningful way the customs procedures being instituted a system that allow to distinguish on board between the goods unionali (that they must be unloaded) and the goods quickly extraunionali, that they must be subordinates to the opportune customs procedures. To such, the fine Commission will introduce within the turn of the year a proposal for the definition of a harmonized cargo declaration electronic. This new electronic manifesto will allow with the companies of navigation to supply to the customs authorities, in all (intra and extraunionali), relative information to the status of the goods.

The Commission has emphasized that currently the shippers and the exporter complain additional costs and meaningful delays because of the heavy administrative burdens in the ports when they decide to short send to goods through Europe through the marine transport beam: the ships in fact can attend hours, and sometimes days, in the ports for the clearance. This returns the marine field less interesting respect to other modalities of transport, in particular to the street transport, uselessly increasing heavy the means traffic on already congested European roads. "Europe - it has found the vice president of the Commission EU, Siim Kallas, in charge of the Transports - must face remarkable challenges in terms of increase of the traffic and pollution. Beam is necessary to take advantage of to the maximum the potentialities of the marine transport short and to supply a respectful solution of transport of the atmosphere and to low cost, that it can transport more goods and reduce the traffic of the congested European street net. We propose innovative instruments in order to reduce the bureaucracy and to contribute to return the naval field a more attractive alternative for the customers who wish to inside make circular goods of the EU".

The Commission has evidenced the importance of the marine transport, to which 75% of the European foreign trade in terms of volume are entrusted and almost 37% of the exchanges inside of the EU (quotas goods transported inside of the EU for transport modality: 45.3% road, 11% railroad, 3.7% navigable ways, 3.1% conducts, 36.8% marine transport, 0.1% aerial transport), but have specified that, if the free circulation of the goods is a fundamental freedom in the within of the right of the EU, however it is not still a truth for the marine field: today a ship that travels between Antwerp and Rotterdam still is dealt as if it came from the China because when the ships exit from territorial waters of the Member States (beyond 12 miles from the coast) consider that they exceed the external frontiers of the European Union. One considers therefore that the ships that travel between ports situated in two various Member States exit from the customs territory of the EU and that they are necessary customs formalities is when the ship leaves the departure port is when it arrives to the destination port, although is both ports of the EU.

"The blue belt - the European commissioner for the Fiscality and the customs union has declared, Algirdas Semeta - will extend the only market to the sea. The marine transport will draw remarkable advantages from the proposed measures, that they will reduce the costs, they will simplify the administration, they will facilitate the exchanges and they will create pairs conditions of competition between all the ways of transport. Meanwhile they will simplify the job of the customs authorities, that they will be able to better face the risks in safety matter and to concentrate itself on the protection of the citizens and the enterprises".

The Commission has remembered that second the association of European shipowners (ECSA) the savings obtained thanks to the simplification of the administrative procedures can arrive to about 25 euros for container and that, besides the money saving, the time saving is still more important: currently, numerous customers (for example the exporter) prefer the transport on the road to the marine transport because of the time constraints.

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) favorably has understood the new proposed illustrated today from the Commission: "we in the right direction receive with favor these proposals as a step", the general secretary of the association of the European ports has commented, Patrick Verhoeven. "We are particularly pleased - it has added - to contribute to the definition and performance of the e-Manifest. Its data, its functionalities and the procedures must be carefully analyzed to the aim to guarantee an easy integration in the activities and the harbour procedures".