12.2.2003 Official Journal of the European Union L 36/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) DECISION No 253/2003/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 February 2003 adopting an action programme for customs in the Community (Customs 2007) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Article 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (), Whereas: (1) The experience gained from previous programmes in the customs field, in particular Customs 2002, set out in Decision No 210/97EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 1996 adopting an action programme for customs in the Community (Customs 2000) (4, indicates that there would be a strong Community interest to continue, and even to enlarge, this programme. The new programme should be built on the achievements of the previous programmes. The need for more focused and measurable objectives has been established as a result of the previous programmes. (2)  The new programme should take into account the Commission communication and the Council resolution of 30 May 2001 on a strategy for the customs union (*). (3)  Customs administrations have a vital role to protect the Community's interests, particularly its financial interests, to provide an equivalent level of protection to the Community's citizens and economic operators, at any point in the Community customs territory where customs clearance formalities are carried out, and to contribute towards the ability of European Union busi- ness to compete in the global marketplace. In this context, the customs policy should be continuously adapted to developments by the Customs Policy Group to ensure that national customs administrations operate as efficiently and effectively as would one single adminis- tration. () O] C 126 E, 28.5.2002, p. 268. () O] C 241, 7.10.2002, p. 8. (’) Opinion of the European Parliament of 3 September 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 16 December 2002. (*) OJ L 33, 4.2.1997, p. 24. Decision as amended by Decision 105/ 2000/EC (O] L 13, 19.1.2000, p. 1). () 0J C 171, 15.6.2001, p. 1. (4) It is necessary for this Decision to establish the objec- tives for the implementation of the programme, as well as the priorities by which it will be guided over the next five years and supports and complements actions under- taken by Member States in the customs field. The imple- mentation of this programme will be coordinated and organised in partnership between the Commission and the Member States within the common policy developed by the Customs Policy Group. The Community commitment to the process of acces- sion by candidate countries requires the provision of practical means whereby the customs administrations of these countries are able to undertake the full range of tasks required under Community legislation from the date of their accession, including the management of the future external border. In order to achieve this, the programme should be open to the candidate countries. A range of instruments can be used in order to achieve the objectives of this programme, including communica- tion and information exchange systems, management groups, project groups, benchmarking, exchanges of offi- cials, seminars, workshops, monitoring, external actions and training activities. In the case of vocational training, Article 150 of the Treaty makes it clear that Community action should fully respect the responsibility of the Member States for the content and organisation of voca- tional training. There is a need for customs action to give priority to improving anti-fraud controls, minimising the cost of compliance with customs legislation for economic operators and preparing for enlargement. The Commu- nity must therefore be able, within the framework of its own powers, to support the action of Member States' customs administrations, and full advantage should be taken of every possibility for administrative cooperation that Community rules provide.