Political agreement reached on new EU Single Window Environment for Customs

The European Commission has welcomed the provisional political agreement reached between the co-legislators on the new EU Single Window for Customs initiative, making it easier for different authorities involved in goods clearance to exchange electronic information submitted by traders. This is an important step to help prevent illegal trade, as it enables better cooperation between the different customs authorities, provide one of the tools to tackle the challenge and further reduce the illegally traded HFCs on the European market. The F-gas proposal contains several measures to strengthen the Regulation through the tackling of illegal trade of F-gases with reinforced legal provisions facilitating improved border control and enforcement but can be further enhanced during the co-decision process. See the European Commission press release.

Illegal imports of HFCs continue to be intercepted:

SERBIA: Customs officers discovered 60 cylinders of HFC refrigerant R404A at the Gradina crossing between Serbia and Bulgaria. See Cooling Post.

USA: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that illegal shipments of HFC refrigerants arriving at US ports continue to be stopped and re-exported. See Cooling Post.