On the lookout for Customs officers

Belgian Customs does not find enough staff for Brexit. Over the last period of time it has become clear that there will not only a lack of competence and capcity in the trade industry due to Brexit, but also on the Customs side.

Belgian customs has recently announced that they do not have enough candidates to fill all vacancies due to Brexit. Approximately half of the 141 places will be filled at the beginning of January.

It is expected that at the time of Brexit at the end of March, 105 new staff members have started according to the Belgian magazine Knack.

The Ministry of Finance acknowledges the problems with recruitment, but insists that on March 29, 2019, when the Brexit takes effect, all places are filled.

If necessary, staff members from other departments will be transferred, according to a spokesperson against the Belgian magazine. A communication that meets opposition from the trade union angle.

Last year when Minister of Finance Johan van Overtveldt reported that 141 extra workers were needed for the Brexit even though according to some sources in the ministry, these will be too few. There should be at least three hundred for a soft Brexit, as in the recently concluded agreement between the UK and the EU, and four hundred for a hard no-deal Brexit situation.

Customs is also working hard to recruit staff in the Netherlands. The expectation is that the work will increase sharply once the British have left the EU, regardless of how. In October it became clear that the Dutch government department needed nine hundred new employees.