COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the EU-China Customs Cooperation 2004-2024, as laid down in the Customs Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance Agr...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the Brussels, 5.6.2024 SWD(2024) 144 final EU-China Customs Cooperation 2004-2024, as laid down in the Customs Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement (CCMAA) and subsequent Strategic Frameworks on Customs Cooperation {SWD(2024) 143 final} EN EN The mission of EU Customs is to protect financial interests of the EU, control unfair and illegal trade, ensure safety and security at the EU’s external border while enhancing legitimate trade. To achieve this mission, EU Customs cooperates internationally with external partners. This evaluation assesses the customs cooperation between the European Union (hereafter ‘EU’) with the People’s Republic of China (hereafter ‘China’) in the last two decades. The EU-China customs cooperation is established by the EU-China Agreement on ‘Customs Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance’ (CCMAA), concluded in 2004. The aim of this evaluation is to support the Commission – at a later stage – in its decision whether to possibly propose to review, improve and/or upgrade the CCMAA, if considered appropriate. Based on the CCMAA, four subsequent ‘Strategic Frameworks’ (for the periods 2010-2012, 2014-2017, 2018-2020 and 2021-2024) were agreed with China to operationalise, on a periodic basis, the priorities and concrete actions. The EU-China customs cooperation, as laid down in the CCMAA and the...