
Article 1 
The Agreement between the European Community and the United States of America on intensifying and broadening the Agreement on customs cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters to include cooperation on container security and related matters (the Agreement) is hereby approved on behalf of the European Community.
The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.
Article 2 
The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Agreement in order to bind the Community.
Article 3 

1. Member States may maintain or conclude arrangements with the United States of America in order to include Community ports in the Container Security Initiative. Any such arrangement shall make reference to the CMAA as expanded and comply with the latter, including minimum standards once they are adopted.The Commission and the Member States concerned may consult each other in order to ensure that such arrangements comply with the CMAA as expanded.
2. Before a Member State commences negotiations on arrangements with the United States of America relating to matters other than those referred to in paragraph 1 but covered by the CMAA as expanded, it shall notify the Commission and the other Member States and provide any relevant information with the notification.
3. Member States or the Commission may request, within eight working days of the receipt of the notification, consultations with the other Member States and the Commission. Such consultations shall take place within three weeks of the receipt of the notification. Where the matter is urgent, consultations shall take place without delay.
4. The Commission shall, no later than five days after the conclusion of the consultations, give its written opinion on the compatibility of the arrangements notified with the CMAA as expanded, including, where appropriate, the need to address the matter in the framework of that Agreement.
5. The consultations shall take place within the Committee established by Article 247 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code.
6. Member States shall transmit to the Commission and to the other Member States a copy of the arrangements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, as well as any denunciation of, or amendments thereto.
Done at Brussels, 30 March 2004.
For the Council
The President
M. McDOWELL
Article 1 
To intensify and broaden customs cooperation under the CMAA to improve the security of sea-container and other shipments from all locations that are imported into, transhipped through, or transiting the European Community and the United States of America.
Article 2 
To take due account of Article 5 of the CMAA, which determines the relations between the CMAA and any bilateral agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters between Member States of the European Community and the United States of America, and any CSI declarations of principles that complement such bilateral agreements
Article 3 
That the objectives of the intensified and broadened cooperation include, but are not limited to:

1.. supporting the prompt and successful expansion of the CSI to all ports in the European Community that meet relevant requirements, and promoting comparable standards in the relevant US ports;
2.. working together to reinforce the customs related aspects for securing the logistics chain of international trade and, in particular, as a first priority to enhance the identification and security screening of all high-risk sea-container shipments;
3.. establishing minimum standards, to the greatest extent practicable, for risk-management techniques and related requirements and programs; and
4.. coordinating positions, to the greatest extent practicable, in any multilateral fora where issues related to container security may be appropriately raised and discussed.
Article 4 
To consider in the JCCC the appropriate form and content of documents and/or measures further implementing the intensified and broadened customs cooperation under this Agreement.
Article 5 
To form a Working Group, comprised of representatives of US Customs and Border Protection and of the European Commission assisted by interested Member States in order to examine and make recommendations to the JCCC on issues including, but not limited to those identified in the Annex.
Article 6 
That the Working Group is to report on a regular basis to the Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection and the Director-General of the Taxation and Customs Union Directorate General of the European Commission and annually to the JCCC on the progress of its work.
Article 7 
This Agreement shall enter into force upon signature by the Parties which shall have the effect of expressing their consent to be bound. If the Agreement is not signed the same day on behalf of both Parties, the Agreement shall enter into force on the day on which the second signature is affixed.
Hecho en Bruselas, el veintiocho de abril de dos mil cuatro.Udfærdiget i Bruxelles den otteogtyvende april to tusind og fire.Geschehen zu Brüssel am achtundzwanzigsten April zweitausendundvier.Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις είκοσι οκτώ Απριλίου δύο χιλιάδες τέσσερα.Done at Brussels on the twenty-eighth day of April in the year two thousand and four.Fait à Bruxelles, le vingt-huit avril deux mille quatre.Fatto a Bruxelles, addì ventotto aprile duemilaquattro.Gedaan te Brussel, de achtentwintigste april tweeduizendvier.Feito em Bruxelas, em vinte e oito de Abril de dois mil e quatro.Tehty Brysselissä kahdentenakymmenentenäkahdeksantena päivänä huhtikuuta vuonna kaksituhattaneljä.Som skedde i Bryssel den tjugoåttonde april tjugohundrafyra.
FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ANNEX

The Working Group created under paragraph 5 of the Agreement between the European Community and the United States of America on intensifying and broadening the CMAA to include cooperation on Container Security and related matters shall examine and make recommendations on issues including, but not limited to, the following areas of cooperation between US Customs and Border Protection and Customs authorities in the European Community with a view to ensuring that general customs controls of international trade take due account of security concerns:

((a)) defining minimum standards, in particular in view of participating in CSI, and recommending methods by which those standards may be met;
((b)) identifying and broadening the application of best practices concerning security controls of international trade, especially those developed under CSI;
((c)) defining and establishing standards to the greatest extent practicable for the information required to identify high-risk shipments imported into, transhipped through, or transiting the United States of America and the European Community;
((d)) improving and establishing standards to the greatest extent practicable for targeting and screening such high-risk shipments, to include information exchange, the use of automated targeting systems, and the development of minimum standards for inspection technologies and screening methodologies;
((e)) improving and establishing standards to the greatest extent practicable for industry partnership-programs designed to improve supply chain security and facilitate the movement of legitimate trade;
((f)) identifying any regulatory or legislative changes that would be necessary to implement the recommendations of the Working Group; and
((g)) considering the type of documents and measures further implementing the intensified and broadened customs cooperation on the issues set out in this Annex.
