Customs Union Working Party to meet in old Hanseatic city - Main contents

The Council Working Party on Customs Union meets regularly to discuss EU customs legislation issues. On 1–2 October the Council Working Party will hold an informal meeting in Visby. Mathias Grönlund, Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the European Union in Brussels, will chair the meeting.

An informal meeting of the Working Group on Customs Union is generally held once every six months in the country holding the Presidency. Mathias Grönlund explains that the Working Party on Customs Union meets in two configurations. The first discusses legislation and policy issues, as well as the coordination of EU positions in customs cooperation committees. The second configuration, known as Common Customs Tariff (CCT), prepares issues concerning the EU system of tariff suspensions and tariff quotas.

“An informal meeting such as the one we are now having in Visby may not be so dissimilar to a formal meeting but there are a couple of differences,” says Mathias.

He explains that in principle, no decisions are taken at the informal meetings. Instead, the focus may be on finding one or two issues that should first be discussed in order to try out ideas and approaches before there has been time to define a formal national position.

What are the meetings usually about?

Mathias explains that because the meeting takes place in the country holding the Presidency there is time to focus on current issues without needing to think about other meetings in Brussels.

“Hopefully the informal meetings can lead to increased participation and, not least, joint ownership. Quite simply, we get to play a more effective part in the decision-making process,” he says.

What’s the plan for the meeting in Visby?

According to Mathias, in Visby the Presidency will follow established practice for informal Customs Union meetings. He mentions one item on the agenda that will be given particular prominence, electronic customs. The purpose of this is to create a paperless environment for customs and trade.

“It feels good to discuss this and similar issues in Visby, given the town’s historical association with the Hanseatic trading league,” says Mathias.