Sittings · Document
On the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Single Market and Customs Programme for the period 2028-2034 and repealing Regulations (EU) 2021/444, (EU) 2021/690, (EU) 2021/785, (EU) 2021/847 and (EU) 2021/1077
Committee on Budgets · Rapporteur: Danuše Nerudová
The Committee on Budgets gives its budgetary assessment of the proposed Single Market and Customs Programme for 2028-2034, which merges parts of five existing programmes into one envelope.¶¶ It considers the envelope should be increased from EUR 6.2 billion (EUR 5.5 billion in 2025 prices), with sufficient human resources from the outset.¶¶ It asks for safeguards on flexibility, indicative sub-envelopes in the basic act, and scrutiny of external assigned revenue.¶¶ It stresses better governance, monitoring and coordination with other Union instruments, and clearer strand-specific performance indicators.¶¶¶
Committee position. The Committee on Budgets proposes that the programme envelope be increased, that sufficient human resources be guaranteed, that flexibility be balanced with safeguards and indicative sub-envelopes, and that external assigned revenue and performance monitoring be subject to scrutiny.¶¶¶
Key points
- The proposal merges parts of five existing programmes into a single envelope covering the single market, customs, taxation and anti-fraud.¶
- The committee considers the programme envelope should be increased from EUR 6.2 billion (EUR 5.5 billion in 2025 prices).¶
- Sufficient human resources must be available from the outset and throughout the next multiannual financial framework period.¶
- The surge in e-commerce has increased customs authorities' workload, and they must be adequately resourced; customs duties are a traditional own resource of the Union.¶
- Flexibility should be balanced with predictability and internal safeguards for mandatory functions; the committee deplores the lack of budget breakdown and recommends indicative sub-envelopes in the basic act.¶
- The committee is concerned that the proposed nomenclature lets the Commission transfer appropriations between former programmes without a budgetary authority decision.¶
- Consolidation requires appropriate governance, coherent prioritisation, transparent resource allocation and robust monitoring, with priority for enforcement-related activities.¶
- Complementarity with other programmes must not harm expenditure traceability, budgetary authority prerogatives or lead to double funding.¶
- External assigned revenue must be clearly circumscribed, transparent and subject to parliamentary scrutiny, with any amendments coordinated with the Committee on Budgets.¶
- The committee is concerned that heterogeneous activities will limit the reliability of performance indicators and calls for clearer strand-specific results and harmonised national data-quality requirements.¶
- Any change in architecture, objectives and eligible actions must be reflected in the monitoring provisions under Annex I of the performance regulation.¶
Who is affected
- Customs and market surveillance authorities, which need adequate resources to handle increased low-value imports and enforce Union standards.¶¶
- The Commission, which would gain latitude to shift spending priorities and transfer appropriations under the proposed nomenclature.¶¶
- The budgetary authority, whose decision rights and scrutiny over transfers and external assigned revenue are at stake.¶¶
- Participating third countries and other third parties that make financial contributions to the programme.¶
Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text and ¶ links to the paragraph it rests on. Check the text itself before relying on it.