Risk management plays a pivotal role in handling constant and emerging threats to safety and security of countries and their citizens, protecting and facilitating the legitimate trade. Therefore, it is important for customs authorities to stay abreast of new approaches and innovative tools in this area. On 12 May 2022, in order to build up the capacity of the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova (MDCS) in this sphere, EUBAM conducted a relevant webinar where more than twenty customs officers involved in risk management activities from the central and regional levels took an active part. 

EUBAM experts, together with specialists from the Finnish Customs, Romanian Customs Authority, and National Revenue Administration of Poland, presented best European practices in the organization of risk management. In particular, special attention was paid to intelligence centers, advanced IT customs tools, and WCO’s risk management maturity levels. The European experts also got Moldovan risk analysis officers acquainted with key objectives of the EU Strategy on customs risk management, which can be used as a benchmark for ensuring high-quality implementation of the MDCS Risk Management Strategy. 

Among the novel concepts and trends presented during the webinar were the EU common risk management framework, common risk criteria, standards for security & safety, and financial risks. The participants also learned more about the role of pre-loading and pre-arrival information, priority control area, information sharing mechanisms, etc. Acquired know-how will boost the efforts of Moldovan Customs Service to enhance its risk management and assist in aligning it to the EU standards.