Shadow report on alignment of Ukraine’s customs legislation and customs administration operations with requirements of Chapter 29 of the EU’s acquis

This Shadow Report provides an independent assessment by civil society representatives of Ukraine’s progress towards EU membership as a candidate country under Negotiation Chapter 29 “Customs Union”.
The document analyses the current state of Ukraine’s customs sector, with a particular focus on the alignment of legislation with EU standards, the development of the law enforcement function of the customs service, the implementation of digital information systems, simplification measures, institutional reform of the State Customs Service and compliance with anti-corruption policy. The authors highlight the customs sector’s key achievements and challenges in the process of European integration and have developed a set of proposals for stakeholders to address the question: to what extent is Ukrainian customs ready to operate as part of the EU’s single customs area, and what needs to be done to achieve this?

This shadow report will be useful for:

• European Union institutions, particularly the European Commission and other bodies involved in the negotiation process and monitoring Ukraine’s fulfilment of its European integration commitments;
• Ukrainian government bodies, particularly the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the State Customs Service of Ukraine, and other institutions responsible for shaping and implementing customs policy and the European integration agenda;
• international donors and technical assistance programmes;
• entities engaged in foreign economic activity;
• think tanks, civil society, and the academic community.