1. 3 rd CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CUSTOMS CHEMISTS Athens, 27-29 June 2007

2. Following the 1 st Conference (Fiuggi, 2000) and the 2 nd Conference (Prague, 2003)

3. Theme “The role of Customs Laboratories in facilitating trade and guaranteeing safety and security”

4. Organised by the European Commission, Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union, the Greek Directorate General of Customs and Excise Duties and the General Chemical State Laboratory with the Group of European Customs Laboratories (GCL) under the Customs 2007 programme

5. Participants Over 200 participants from 42 countries Participating Countries  28 Member States and Candidate Countries  9 Neighbouring Countries  5 other countries

6. Participants …..from 6 Directorate Generals of the European Commission (TAXUD, Environment, Enterprises, TAIEX, Agriculture and Rural Development, Joint Research Centre) ……Honorary Members of the GCL

7. Participants ….. from European and International organisations, associations etc representing sectors of science, industry, trade and environment, such as: Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU(CIAA) International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) European Chemical Industries Council (CEFIC) European Committee of Standardisation (CEN) Hellenic Association of Chemical Industries Greek Federation of Customs Brokers

8. First Day Presentation of the 4 GCL Actions Classification and Trade Facilitation Thee parallel workshops  Alcohol and alcoholic products  Agricultural products  Industrial products

9. Second Day: Demonstration Workshop at Piraeus Port Container scan and Sniffer Dogs

10. Second Day: Safety and Environment Training of sniffer dogs Chemical Products and Customs controls Drugs and Precursors Safety and Risk Analysis in Customs Controls REACH and Customs controls The Green Customs Initiative Customs laboratory work and the Waste Shipment Regulation Biofuels

11. Third Day: Security and Future Chemical weapons and laboratories for the detection of chemical weapons The role of Customs on enhancing security Novel equipment and technology used for security at entrance points (airports, ports etc) Mobile labs Sampling European and ISO standardized analytical methods in laboratories and in customs legislation

12. Interaction between Customs Laboratories and representatives from the sectors of industry, trade, environment, science, standardization Presentation of EU policies by experts Concrete examples on the implementation of EU policies in Customs Labs Opportunity for contact and collaboration among representatives from 42 countries New orientations New stimuli New activities

13. 4 th CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CUSTOMS CHEMISTS Helsinki, June 2010