Authorised Economic Operators – Solid customs programme with untapped potential and uneven implementation

Summary:

The EU has a programme in place to simplify customs procedures for reliable traders, to facilitate legitimate trade between the EU and its global partners and to ensure international supply chain security – the Authorised Economic Operators programme. We examined whether the Commission provided a sound regulatory and monitoring framework and whether the Member States implemented the programme properly.

Our overall conclusion is that the AEO programme facilitates legitimate trade, enhances supply-chain security and the protection of the EU financial interest, but the management, regulatory framework and the implementation, including AEO benefits, require changes and improvements. We recommend the Commission to improve the regulatory framework, to better measure the programme’s performance and to enhance the monitoring of its implementation

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