The European Commission released a new guidance document, prepared in consultation with trade associations, “AEO – Customs Cooperation to Detect, Report and React to Suspicious Activities”, aimed at strengthening collaboration between customs authorities and economic operators in combating illicit trade, drug trafficking, and organised crime.
The initiative encourages whistleblowing and enhanced two-way collaboration with 24/7 dedicated contact points ,enabling faster detection of suspicious activities. While based on existing partnerships with Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs), the guidance encourages all businesses—regardless of AEO status—to adopt proactive reporting measures.
The non-binding Guidance is paving the way to the upcoming legal framework under the new UCC, fostering transparency and collaboration in customs and economic operator information exchange.
For more information, please see here.