A meeting was held with European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi at the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) featuring Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Deputy Minister George Kotsiras, and AADE Deputy Governor George Pitsilis.
Joining the meeting were Milan Jaron, head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), and Greek European Prosecutor Nikolaos Paschalis.
The agenda focused on enhancing cooperation between Greece and the EPPO to improve the fight against customs and tax fraud. The minister and AADE head presented the Customs NextGEN program, a comprehensive modernization initiative for Greek customs.
Targets for 2029 include:
*Full integration of the Financial Crime Unit (SDOE) into the AADE by October 2025.
*Streamlining the process for granting Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status to trustworthy economic operators.
*Establishment of a Customs Document Control Center in Thessaloniki by June 2026, covering 40 customs offices nationwide.
*Development of a digital monitoring system for vehicles and containers at national borders by 2026.
*Creation of a Container Targeting Center at the Port of Piraeus by September 2026 in collaboration with UK authorities.
*Reform and digitization of the national customs information system from 2026 to 2029 to fully digitize customs processes in line with the Union Customs Code (UCC).
Funding details include:
*80 million euros allocated from the Recovery and Resilience Fund for digital monitoring of trucks and containers.
*203 million euros earmarked over the next four years to boost operational capacity.
Investment distribution by 2027:
*125 million euros for staffing Customs with approximately 1,100 new employees, focusing on Piraeus and logistics in Attica.
*40 million euros for eight X-Ray cargo inspection systems.
*20 million euros for two X-Ray systems for freight trains.
*18 million euros for a new Customs information system.
Overall, more than 280 million euros will be invested in Customs NextGEN.
Additional discussion points included:
*Identifying and reporting customs and tax fraud (VAT) using advanced risk analysis and cross-border data sharing.
*Providing specialized financial investigators and customs officials to assist the EPPO in Greece.
*Deploying national experts to the EPPO to improve interoperability with EU systems.
*Ensuring EPPO access to the EUROFISC information network for efficient VAT fraud prevention and combating.
*Equalizing salaries for officials in NEDPAs (Secretaries and Financial Investigators) at the Athens Office to align with national auditing remuneration due to their increased workload.
The ministry stated that the meeting affirmed strong cooperation between Greece and the EPPO, with a commitment to deepen joint efforts for transparency and protection of both Greek and European budgets. (01/10/25)
Also read:
The European Prosecutor L. Kövesi met with Prosecutor K. Tzavellas
Meeting of M. Chrysochoidis with the European Prosecutor, L. Kövesi – They discussed strengthening cooperation on investigation matters
Meeting of the head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office L. Kövesi with G. Floridis
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