Selected Legal Aspect of Environmental Protection in the Context of the Reform of Europeanunion Customs Law

Abstract

The paper explores the legal and institutional dimensions of environmental protection within the ongoing reform of the European Union’s customs law. It analyses the draft EU Customs Code, which integrates customs policy with the environmental objectives of Article 191 TFEU and redefines the role of customs administrations as protectors not only of the Union’s financial interests but also of the internal market’s ecological security.

Particular attention is paid to the control of environmentally risky imports, such as lithium-ion batteries, chemicals, and microplastic-based textiles. The paper discusses the interaction between customs controls and secondary EU environmental legislation — notably the REACH, Ecodesign, and Batteries Regulations — which require digital product passports and environmental data disclosure to customs authorities. Implementation challenges are linked to the absence of a unified electronic system among EU customs and environmental agencies.

Further, the paper analyses customs competences in detecting illegal waste shipments under Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 and relevant CJEU case law. It highlights the potential of the proposed European Customs Authority and the Customs Data Hub to improve inter-agency cooperation. The conclusion stresses that effective environmental protection in customs practice depends on administrative integration rather than new competences, particularly in monitoring trade in waste and batteries. The analysis and synthesis methods were primarily used to address this issue, supplemented by historical and comparative methods.