Article 4
Common framework of objectives The common framework of objectives provided for in Article 1 (3), within which the Commission and the Member States shall establish plans and priorities in order to define and carry out coordinated action to ensure that customs action matches the needs of the Community's internal market, shall aim to: 1) guarantee that Community law is applied in such a way as to achieve equivalent results at every point of Community customs territory in order to: - avoid distortions likely to prejudice the proper functioning of the internal market which might arise owing to variations in the way customs procedures are applied in the various parts of the Community; - protect the Community's interests, particularly its financial interests; - afford an equivalent level of protection to the Community's citizens and economic operators, at whatever point in Community customs territory customs clearance formalities are carried out, while ensuring the fluidity required for international trade operations; 2) provide a framework for considering the Community dimension in the organization of services and in the provision of infrastructures and equipment, and promote the joint use of operational material contributing to the implementation of Community rules; 3) foster initiatives that Member States may propose to implement, singly or jointly, to improve the overall efficiency of customs administrations in carrying out their tasks; 4) help Member States develop training for customs administration officials by adapting it to their changing role in the implementation of Community customs rules and common policies at external borders; 5) contribute, by appropriate actions in the fields of training and technical assistance and cooperation, to the establishment or the development of high-quality customs services in third countries that so request under agreements which the Community has concluded or may conclude with those third countries, and by this means encourage the development of Community trade; 6) encourage openness and efficiency of customs action for the benefit of legitimate trade by strengthening relations between the Community's customs administrations, business, legal and scientific circles, and operators engaged in foreign trade; 7) help the customs administrations of the associated countries that wish to accede to the European Union.