Ukraine-EU Association Council: Ukraine will be able to join international customs conventions on October 1.

Yesterday, the Ukrainian delegation led by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal took part in the 8th plenary session of the Ukraine-EU Association Council in Brussels. 

It followed by a historical decision for Ukraine about the possibility of joining international customs conventions from October 1 this year, thanks to which “customs visa-free” will be launched.

An essential element of activity for customs integration with the EU was the preparation of the necessary legislative basis, the adoption of several necessary laws, and the introduction of the national application of the electronic transit system (NCTS) from March 17, 2021 that was the result of the coordinated work of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the State Customs Service of Ukraine, the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, the Reform Support Teams of the Ministry of Finance, and the State Customs Service and experts of the EU4PFM.

Finally, Ukraine also signed two agreements with the EU which pave the way for Ukraine’s participation in the EU’s Customs and Fiscal programmes.

This is a major step forward for cooperation between the EU and Ukraine on customs and tax matters.

And further on, the Ukrainian side will participate in meetings for the development of the new IT systems together with EU member states.

EU4PFM has been already engaged in the process and organized the consultations for the SCS on the benefits of the Programme. The secure trans-European communication network (CCN/CSI) for NCTS is an essential part of the Customs programme so customs authorities will start taking advantage of it soon.