Appointment of Customs Service head via competition ensures reform continuity, EU aligned modernization
The appointment of a new head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine through a competition should ensure continuity of the initiated reforms and become an impetus for further modernization of Ukrainian customs in accordance with EU standards, the service believes.
"The full implementation of the provisions on the reform of the body creates the basis for the appointment of a head capable of continuing the process of consistent transformation of Ukrainian customs, which will ensure further rebooting," the service commented to Interfax-Ukraine, answering a question about the start of the competitive selection for the position of head of the service.
The State Customs Service said the organization of an open and transparent competitive selection for the position of its head is carried out by a competition commission, the composition of which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers this week. Moreover, according to the European Commission, despite the ongoing Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, serious problems with staffing and budgetary constraints, the progress made by Ukraine in implementing customs reform over the past two years "is very impressive."
The State Customs Service also said one of the priority areas of further reform has been the granting of the State Customs Service the status of a law enforcement agency as an important prerequisite for the full integration of Ukraine into the European customs space. This, in turn, will provide customs officers with new opportunities to effectively combat smuggling, while at the same time imposing significantly greater responsibility on them. That is why it is extremely important not only to maintain the progress already achieved, but also to adapt to new challenges, the service said.
As reported, on October 17, 2024, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law on the reform of the State Customs Service. It provides for a procedure for rotating customs officials, integrity checks and lifestyle monitoring, and the possibility of conducting psychophysiological interviews using a polygraph of customs officials.