Updated customs blueprints and fight against counterfeiting were the main topics of the conference held from 12 to 14 March at Brdo pri Kranju.

Directors-general of customs administrations of EU member states members and West Balkan countries together with representatives of the European Commission  adopted a declaration following the Conference on Customs Cooperation in South-East Europe (80 KB). In the declaration the European customs administrations recognise the new challenges resulting from increase in global trade and growing concerns about safety and security of citizens and environment. The Customs services have to strike the right balance between support for legitimate trade and fight against fraud. The quantity of counterfeited goods in the international trade has been increasing (Slovenia is among EU countries where the largest quantities of counterfeited goods are seized) and the role of the Customs is to prevent imports of counterfeited goods into EU. The majority of counterfeited goods (79 %) are of China origin, cigarettes (more than half cases) are followed by clothes, electronic devices and medicines.

At the conference the updated customs blueprints were presented by the Commission for the first time. The document contains the best practices of the member states customs administrations and can be an excellent tool for candidate countries in their efforts to improve  and update their operational capacity, legislation, IT systems and standards and to meet the EU requirements. The blueprints can also be useful for any future-orientated customs administration in preparing its development strategy.

The European Commission and the customs administrations of EU member states pledged themselves to continue to provide expertise and technical assistance to the countries of West Balkan in the process of harmonisation with EU standards.