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Russian Customs Chief Unhappy with EU
Federal Customs Service chief Andrey Belyaninov, speaking at a meeting of a working group of Russian and Finnish customs officials, has complained that the European Union is stalling an electronic exchange among the customs agencies of Russia and its EU neighbors of information on the movement of goods across their borders. EU spokesmen have retorted that a schedule for such an exchange was worked out in April of this year and the information exchange will go into effect in January 2009.
“The EU is still not really interested in implementing such technology [as electronic information exchange] on a wide scale,” and is making excuses to avoid it, Belyaninov told the meeting.
In addition to information exchange, measures will be taken to develop transportation infrastructure jointly and reduce violations. Steps will be taken using EU money to ensure that Russia's new Automated Customs Transit Control System is compatible with the EU's New Computerized Transit System. The EU will also invest ˆ40 million in automated admission points on the Russian border with Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
Federal Customs Service press secretary Alexander Smelyakov explained that the agency head was only expressing his regret that the agreement with the EU will not come into force any sooner. EU representatives declined to comment on Belyaninov's words at all.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 21, 2007
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