Use of information technology for customs purposes: accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Convention

PURPOSE: to allow Bulgaria and Romania to accede to the Convention of 26 July 1995 on the use of information technology for customs purposes.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2007/764/EC concerning the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Convention, drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the use of information technology for customs purposes.

CONTENT: the 2005 Act of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania introduced a simplified system for the accession of these two countries to the conventions (and protocols) concluded by Member States on the basis of Article 34 TEU (previously Article K.3 TEU) or Article 293 EC.

Article 3(3) of the Act of Accession provides that Bulgaria and Romania accede to these conventions and protocols by virtue of the Act of Accession. Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 3 provide that, to that effect, the Council shall adopt a decision in order to determine the date on which these conventions shall enter into force for Bulgaria and Romania, and to make all the necessary adjustments to these conventions required by reason of the accession of the two new Member States (which would include, in any event, the adoption of the conventions in the Bulgarian and Romanian languages, so that these versions can be "equally authentic").

Consequently, in virtue of this Council Decision, Bulgaria and Romania accede to the following texts:

• the Convention of 26 July 1995, drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the use of information technology for customs purposes;
• the Protocol of 29 November 1996, drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the interpretation, by way of preliminary rulings, by the Court of Justice of the European Communities of the Convention on the use of information technology for customs purposes;

·        the Protocol of 12 March 1999, drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the scope of the laundering of proceeds in the Convention on the use of information technology for customs purposes and the inclusion of the registration number of the means of transport in the Convention;

·        the Protocol of 8 May 2003, established in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union, amending, as regards the creation of a customs files identification database, the Convention on the use of information technology for customs purposes.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: the Decision takes effect from 25/11/2007. The dates for entry into force are planned to enable Bulgaria and Romania to accede to the basic Convention and the amending protocols.