EU Customs Union

The Customs Policy of the EU is a foundation of the Union and an essential element in the functioning of the single market. The single market can only function properly where there are common rules applied in a common way at its external borders - 25 Customs administrations acting as one. These common rules go beyond the Customs Union as such - with its common tariff - and extend to all aspects of trade policy, such as preferential trade, health and environmental controls, the CAP and fisheries policies, the protection of our economic interests by non-tariff instruments and external relations policy trade facilitation is a key policy for customs. Trade facilitation can be defined as the simplification and harmonisation of international trade procedures including import and export procedures (procedures in this context are: the activities involved in collecting, presenting, communicating and processing the data required for movement of goods in international trade) measures.

In our paper we have analyzed the EU Customs Union and different other aspects which characterize the customs policy in Latvia during the Soviet Union, 1990 – ties, pre-accession period when Latvia applied acquis communautaire in order to move towards joining the EU and Latvia being a member of EU’s Customs Union. We were focusing mainly on the analysis of market procedures and system which were exercised in Latvia before its accession to the EU and nowadays when it is being a full-fledged member of the EU. …