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INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH JOURNAL OF MYKOLAS ROMERIS UNIVERSITY
"INTELLECTUAL ECONOMICS"
ISSN 1822-8011 (print), ISSN 1822-8038 (online)

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lithuanian

INTELLECTUAL ECONOMICS 2007, Number 2(2)

Rimas Stankevičius

PROBLEMS OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AMONG THE EUROPEAN UNION CUSTOMS AUTHORITIES
Mykolas Romeris University Publishing Centre. Vilnius. Lithuania 2007 Nr.2(2), p. 60–67 stankevicius

Summary

Customs regimes are always concerned at least with two persons, who are residents of different countries, and are active in international trade. International trade cannot exist without intervention of governmental institutions such as border guard services, customs, veterinary and phytosanitary services. But in the same time governmental authorities should not hinder legal business and should fight against illegal businesses. That is an idea of intellectual economy and good governance practice.
Customs union is one of the main elements of European Community market, which consists of four freedoms. Customs administrations must have some tools and levers to secure correct implementation of customs law. Modern customs administration cannot exist without implementation of the best practice, without risk assessment and modern IT infrastructure, without know how and mutual assistance and cooperation between customs administrations.
This article is dedicated to overview in details and summarizes conceptions of mutual assistance and cooperation between customs administrations, to list main requirements of customs law acts which are important to customs law enforcement and to explain models of mutual assistance and fit law requirements to them.
Firstly there is a short introduction of competence of EU and links between competence of EU and customs mutual assistance. After that the article gives short scope of different levels of agreements on mutual assistance, explains their specialties and conditions when they can be applicable to protect financial and non financial interest of EU . There are descriptions about administrative and criminal mutual assistance and cooperation in article, too.
Furthermore the author presents different kinds of mutual assistance in traditional, electronical and other ways.
The article provides an overview of current practice of mutual assistance and cooperation between European Union and Member States from one side and third countries from other side as well.
At the end, the author reaches the conclusion, that mutual assistance is one of the modern customs administration requirements. Mutual assistance is necessity, but it is not only duty and a right and customs services can cooperate between themselves and on their own initiative. EU supports mutual assistance of customs services in Member States and tries to make different helpful tools as much as possible.
It is obligation that customs officers who are dealing with mutual assistance must have a thorough knowledge of law and customs activities, otherwise they will make a lot of mistakes and cooperation can become ineffective. The author presents idea to customs administrations and educational bodies to prepare a manual for mutual assistance, which could consists of main knowledge and advices for preparations of requests for mutual assistance and cooperation.

JEL classification: K42.

Keywords: customs administrations, customs cooperation, mutual assistance, risks, risk information.






Responsibilities for information Dalė Dzemydienė
E-mail: int.economics@mruni.lt