EU – Türkiye Authorized Economic Operator (AEO/CEO) Mutual Recognition Decision (Draft)

(1)

The Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and Turkey (the ‘Association Agreement’) was signed at Ankara on 12 September 1963. It defines the scope and content of the association relationship. Rules concerning the final phase of the EU–Türkiye Customs Union are laid down in Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22 December 1995, which entered into force on 31 December 1995 (‘Decision No 1/95’).

(2)

The EC-Turkey Association Council (the ‘Association Council’) was set up pursuant to Article 6 of the Association Agreement. Pursuant to Article 24 of the Association Agreement, the Association Council may decide to set up committees to assist in the performance of its tasks.

(3)

Decision No 2/69 of the Association Council of 15 December 1969 (‘Decision No 2/69’) established the Customs Cooperation Committee.

(4)

Article 2 of Decision No 2/69 stipulates that ‘the Customs Cooperation Committee shall be responsible for ensuring administrative cooperation between the Contracting Parties with a view to the correct and uniform application of the customs provisions of the Association Agreement and for carrying out any other tasks in the customs field which the Association Committee may entrust to it’.

(5)

Pursuant to Article 28(3) of Decision No 1/95, the Customs Cooperation Committee is to lay down the appropriate measures to implement the customs provisions contained in that Article.

(6)

Security and safety, and the facilitation of the international trade supply chain, can be significantly enhanced through mutual recognition of the respective trade partnership programmes, namely of the authorised economic operator (AEO) programme of the Union and the national AEO programme of the Republic of Türkiye (‘Türkiye’).

(7)

The two AEO programmes are based on internationally recognised security standards advocated by the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade adopted by the World Customs Organization in June 2005 (‘SAFE Framework’).

(8)

Mutual recognition allows the Contracting Parties to provide facilitative benefits to economic operators who have invested in supply-chain security and have been authorised under their respective programmes.

(9)

Site visits and a joint evaluation of the AEO programmes in the Union and in Türkiye have revealed that their qualification standards for security and safety purposes are compatible and lead to equivalent results.

(10)

The Customs Cooperation Committee during its meeting in 2026 or by written procedure if the Contracting Parties so agree, is to adopt a decision concerning the mutual recognition of the AEO programme (security part) of the Union and the AEO programme of Türkiye.

(11)

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Customs Cooperation Committee as its decision on mutual recognition of the AEO programmes will have legal effects,

(1)

Article 2(1) of the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and Turkey signed at Ankara on 12 September 1963 (the ‘Association Agreement’) establishes that ‘the aim of this Agreement is to promote the continuous and balanced strengthening of trade and economic relations between the Parties’.

(2)

Article 7 of the Association Agreement stipulates that ‘the Contracting Parties shall take all appropriate measures, whether general or particular, to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations arising from this Agreement’.

(3)

Article 28(1), point (c), of Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22 December 1995 (the ‘Customs Union Decision’) establishes that the Republic of Türkiye (‘Türkiye’) is to adopt provisions based on the Community Customs Code and its implementing provisions in the field of, among others, introduction of goods into the territory of the Customs Union.

(4)

Article 28(3) of the Customs Union Decision establishes that the Customs Cooperation Committee is to lay down the appropriate measures to implement such provisions.

(5)

Security and safety, and the facilitation of the international trade supply chain, can be significantly enhanced through mutual recognition of the respective trade partnership programmes, namely of the authorised economic operator (AEO) programme of the Union and the national AEO programme of Türkiye.

(6)

The two AEO programmes are based on internationally recognised security standards advocated by the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade adopted by the World Customs Organization in June 2005 (‘SAFE Framework’).

(7)

Mutual recognition allows the Contracting Parties to provide facilitative benefits to economic operators who have invested in supply-chain security and have been authorised under their respective programmes.

(8)

Site visits and a joint evaluation of the AEO programmes in the Union and in Türkiye have revealed that their qualification standards for security and safety purposes are compatible and lead to equivalent results.

(9)

Decision 2/69 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 15 December 1969 establishing the Customs Cooperation Committee (³) and in particular Article 2 thereof, stipulates that the Customs Cooperation Committee is to be responsible for ensuring administrative cooperation between the Contracting Parties with a view to the correct and uniform application of the customs provisions of the Association Agreement and for carrying out any other tasks in the customs field which the Association Committee may entrust to it,

(1)

‘Customs Authority’ means the customs authority of a Member State of the Union or the customs authority of Türkiye, hereinafter referred to collectively as ‘Customs Authorities’;

(2)

‘Economic operator’ means a person involved in the international movement of goods;

(3)

‘Personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

(4)

‘Programme’ means:

(5)

‘Programme Members’means economic operators holding AEO status in the Union and economic operators holding membership status in Türkiye as referred to in point (4) when referred to collectively.

(a)

the application process for granting the AEO status and membership;

(b)

the assessment of applications;

(c)

the granting of the AEO status and membership;

(d)

the managing, monitoring, suspension, re-assessment, and revocation of the AEO status and membership;

(e)

promoting cooperation between Customs Authorities and environmental authorities to promote AEO status and membership compliance with international environmental standards.

(a)

fewer security and safety-related controls: each Customs Authority takes the status of a Programme Member granted by the other Customs Authority favourably into account in its risk assessment in order to reduce inspections or controls and in other security and safety-related measures;

(b)

the giving of priority to the inspection of consignments covered by exit or entry summary declarations and transit declarations that include same data elements required for entry or exit summary declarations, lodged by a Programme Member if the Customs Authority decides to proceed with an inspection;

(c)

the recognition of business partners status during the application process: each Customs Authority takes the status of a Programme Member granted by the other Customs Authority into account with a view to treating the Programme Member as a secure and safe partner when assessing the business partners’ requirements for applicants under its own Programme;

(d)

business continuity mechanism: both Customs Authorities endeavour to establish a business continuity mechanism to respond to disruptions in trade flows due to increases in security alert levels, border closures or natural disasters, hazardous emergencies or other major incidents, by which priority cargos related to Programme Members should be facilitated and expedited to the extent possible by the Customs Authorities.

(a)

may suspend the benefits provided under this Decision to a Programme Member of the other Customs Authority only for duly justified reasons equivalent to those for which it would suspend a Programme Member from its Programme, such as when the Programme Member is found to be involved in a safety and security related incident;

(b)

shall, within a reasonable time, communicate the suspension operated under point (a) and the reasons for the suspension to the other Customs Authority via the competent services of the European Commission.

(a)

providing each other with the details on their Programme Members in accordance with paragraph 3;

(b)

providing each other with updates on the operability and development of their Programmes in a timely manner;

(c)

exchanging information regarding supply-chain security policy and trends; and

(d)

ensuring effective communication through the competent services of the European Commission and the Customs Authority of Türkiye to enhance risk-management practices with respect to supply-chain security.

(a)

name;

(b)

address;

(c)

membership status, namely authorised, suspended, revoked or cancelled;

(d)

validation or authorisation date when available;

(e)

unique identification number (for example: EORI or AEO numbers); and

(f)

other details that may be mutually determined between the Parties in writing, subject, when applicable, to any necessary safeguards.

(a)

personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner in relation to the concerned Programme Members;

(b)

personal data must be collected and processed for the specified, explicit and legitimate purpose of implementing this Decision and not be further processed by the communicating Customs Authority or by the receiving Customs Authority in a way incompatible with that purpose;

(c)

personal data must be accurate and kept up to date;

(d)

personal data must be kept in a form which permits the identification of Programme Members for no longer than it is necessary for the purpose for which the data were collected or for which they are further processed;

(e)

information received under this Decision must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, taking into account the specific risks of processing, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures; the receiving Customs Authority shall take appropriate measures to address any data breach, and shall notify the communicating Customs Authority of such breach without undue delay;

(f)

both the communicating Customs Authority and the receiving Customs Authority shall take every reasonable step to ensure without delay the rectification or erasure, as appropriate, of personal data where the processing does not comply with this Article, in particular because those data are not adequate, relevant, accurate, or they are excessive in relation to the purpose of processing. This includes the notification of any rectification or erasure to the other Customs Authority;

(g)

upon request, the receiving Customs Authority shall inform the communicating Customs Authority of the use of the communicated data and about the implementation of the safeguards with respect to these data;

(h)

the communicating and the receiving Customs Authorities are under an obligation to make a written record of the communication and receipt of personal data;

(i)

Programme Members shall, subject to necessary and proportionate limitations established by law to protect important grounds of public interest, have the right to receive information on the processing of their personal data, to access such data and to have inaccurate or unlawfully processed data rectified or erased;

(j)

Programme Members shall have the right, without prejudice to any other administrative or non-judicial remedy, to an effective judicial remedy for the violation of the aforementioned safeguards.

(a)

in the Union: the European Data Protection Supervisor or its successor, and the Member States’ data protection authorities;

(b)

in Türkiye: the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK) of the Republic of Türkiye.

(a)

exchanges of views on details exchanged and benefits referred to in Article 4 granted to Programme Members, including any future details or benefits;

(b)

exchanges of views on details of the management of the AEO status, e.g. monitoring, re-assessment, suspension and revocation;

(c)

exchanges of views on security provisions such as protocols to be followed during and after a serious security incident (business resumption) or when conditions merit suspension of mutual recognition;

(d)

examination of the suspension of the benefits referred to in Article 4;

(e)

review of the implementation of Article 6; and

(f)

any changes to the Programmes of the Parties.