The Effects of E-Government in the Eus Multilayered Administration: Shaping Interactions

E-Government has already ceased to be a buzz word in the policy debate, even as it is now at the point of becoming a reality. Ever more EU administrative decisions on the ground are now taken and communicated using interconnected data processing systems. This change in information management, but also in communication between different authorities, changes the shape of how these decisions are made and used.

This paper will shed light on the extent of the changes that are connected to the introduction of the E-Government system in the common customs administration. This technology impacts on Member State and EU interactions as well as on the discretion open to Member states in fulfilling the task of custom authorities. Consequently, the change in technology is liable to have effects on the legal capacities of Member States.

Using the case of the recent introduction of an E-government system in the Customs Administration of the EU, this paper will map the technological changes as well as their legal effects. This paper pays particular attention to the interactions between Member State and EU authorities. The new technological necessities of a unified approach to details of customs decision and the new possibilities of overseeing the work of national customs authorities at EU level are changing the respective positions and legal arguments available in their interaction.