Professor's presentation

In today's Europe, there are no obstacles to things moving freely from one country to another, provided they are transported through the territory of the states belonging to the European Union.

Goods can be transported from, for example, Portugal to France via Spain, without any of these three countries being able to restrict this movement.

All goods and people within the European Union can travel from one country to another without having to pay anything to cross from one country to another. It is one of the consequences of the existence, since 1993, of the Single European Market. This Single Market guarantees the 4 basic freedoms within the EU: free movement of goods, people, services and capital.

Another consequence, complementary to the previous one and akin to the other side of the same coin, is that the entry or exit of products from or to countries outside the European Union will always have to follow the same procedures, regardless of which EU country receives or sends these products.

There is therefore a single border between the European Union and the rest of the world, which provides a single system for the movement of goods between the Member States of the European Union and other countries.

Customs offices are the places where operations are carried out to authorize the exchange of goods between a country within the European Union and one outside it.

At customs, documentation is presented declaring the items that are going to be imported (when they are brought into the territory of the European Union) or exported (when they are sent to countries outside the European Union).

Goods are deposited there and inspected by customs authorities to ensure they comply with the declaration and are free of any defects.

This is the moment when payment must be made for the export or import of the items in question.

Once all these operations have been completed, the items are authorized to be transported within the European Union (in the case of imports) or to be sent to other countries (in the case of exports).

Smuggling occurs when all these controls are bypassed in the exchange of goods.

This may occur because the substances or items are prohibited, such as drugs or weapons. In drugs or narcotics, this is what is known as drug trafficking.

Smuggling also occurs when people attempt to enter or remove from a country without permission, goods that are specially protected, for example, works of art or endangered animals and plants.

Customs authorities also monitor that counterfeit branded goods (counterfeit toys, counterfeit handbags, etc.) or pirated goods (such as computer programs, etc.) do not enter Customs.