NEWSLETTER 18/12/2023

Did you miss our side event at this year’s historic COP28? Fear not, the interesting and diverse discussion was recorded and is available to watch online! Our panellists explored our understanding and the implementation of carbon pricing systems worldwide, as well as how CBAMs can inspire further global progress in this area.

Approximately 86 million fake items were detained in the European Union in 2022 at the EU external border and in the internal market, according to a joint report issued last month by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Commission. The estimated value of fake items detained in the EU amounted to over €2 billion, an increase of approximately 3% in 2022 compared to 2021.

The European Union’s new customs pre-arrival safety and security system – Import Control System 2 (ICS2) – will introduce a new process for entry of goods by maritime and inland waterways, road and rail in the EU as of 3 June 2024. Affected businesses will be required to prepare in advance for ICS2 and connect to the system within a time-limited deployment window.

On 7 December 2023, the PEM Joint Committee adopted the new and modernised rules of origin that aims to increase trade between the European Union and neighbouring countries in the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) region. The rules of origin will be implemented as of 1 January 2025 and will modernise all preferential trade agreements among the 24 PEM trading partners by making the relevant ‘rules of origin' in those agreements more flexible and business-friendly.

This month, the Commission and Norway successfully completed negotiations to amend the EU-Norway agreement on administrative cooperation, recovery assistance and combating fraud in the field of VAT, paving the way for final EU adoption and signature. The aim is to align the EU-Norway agreement with the latest amendments of the EU legislation on VAT administrative cooperation introduced after its conclusion in 2018.