Action 5 – Scientific expertise

This action has seen significant steps made towards the development of a strong scientific customs force, which is able to quickly give support within the CLEN. Workshops, training sessions and working groups are regularly organised with the aim of training customs officers on real life situations (for instance, to identify unknown chemicals or anticipate new safety issues).

Examples of activities carried out under Action 5

Training Session on Gemmology	24-25 October and 14-15, 28-29 November 2023 – Turin (IT) – 6 participants per session from 13 Member States Organised by the Italian customs laboratory, these workshops aimed at increasing participants’ knowledge on the characteristics needed to identify gemstones and diamonds, as well as distinguishing nature gemstones and diamonds from their synthetic counterparts or imitations. Participants had the opportunity to work hands-on with main gemmological instruments.
Technical Meetings on the Use of Handheld Devices	4-7 and 11-14 October 2022 – Amsterdam (NL) – 14 participants per session from 10 Member States Organised by the Dutch customs laboratory, these technical meetings aimed at exchanging experiences on how mobile detection equipment are used in practice. Participants had the opportunity to carry out physical inspection of containers, search a vehicle, analyse different samples in various packages, etc.
Webinar on Gemmology	30 November 2021 - 65 participants from 29 countries (21 Member States, 2 EU Candidate Countries, 2 other European countries and 4 Asian countries) The aim of the webinar was to expand the customs laboratories’ knowledge on gems, concentrating on theoretical aspects and traditional fields of application of gemmology, as well as sharing good practices.
Webinar on Cannabis and Cannabinoids	20-22 October 2020 – 99 participants from 31 countries (24 Member States, 2 EU Candidate Countries, 2 other European countries, 2 American countries and 1 Asian country) The main objectives of the webinar were: - to get a view of the increasing market of cannabis products, including cannabinoids, in particular low THC products and CBD products, - to have an overview of the related products (food, oils, cosmetics, etc.), including production processes, - to list the analytical difficulties encountered for their control as well as analytical methods and instruments, - to identify existing ring tests and reference materials, - to discuss the design of a CLEN inter-laboratory test on THC and CBD.
Technical Meeting in Ion Mass Spectroscopy (IMS)	6 – 7 April 2017 Amsterdam – 10 participants from 6 countries The meeting gathered representatives from customs laboratories with either experience in using IMS devices or willing to buy such devices. Each participant had the opportunity to work with the different IMS devices and share their experience.
Designers drugs	Many Project Group Meetings related to Designers drugs and other illicit products have been organized since 2014 (for example, in Ispra in 2014, in Brussels in 2017 or in Geel in 2018). Each time, these meetings gathered many participants with diverse backgrounds (CLEN members and other organizations and networks). The meetings focused on exchanging views and sharing chemical data, with the aim of facilitating the rapid detection of new substances and the identification of unknown chemicals. Workshops have also been held to discuss the issues faced and the analytical methods used for the identification of designer drugs. For instance, a workshop organized in Berlin in 2012 gathered 80 participants and aimed at sharing knowledge among European Customs Laboratories on the practices and methods used for the control of designer drugs.
Customs Detection Technologies	7-9 October 2014, Budapest – 145 participants from 32 countries 10-12 October 2017, Tartu – 128 participants from 36 countries The main objectives of these workshops were to improve the functioning of the Customs Union by optimizing customs controls with existing and new emerging detection, identification and verification technologies, as well as to identify key challenges for future technology needs.
Training session on Plant microscopy	13-14 September 2017, Brussels – 20 participants from 20 Member States This training session focused on plant analyses for customs purposes and knowledge of the microscopy tools supporting plant analyses. Participants exchanged views on the classification of plants and shared recommendations and good practices on methods and protocols.
Training session on Liquid Scintillation Counting of bio-based products	20-21 November 2014, Amsterdam – 33 participants from 21 Member States and 1 Candidate country This training allowed participants from the customs laboratories to broaden their knowledge of the LSC techniques in order to better detect and quantify the quantity of bio-based products in controlled samples.
Project Group Meetings on Tobacco and tobacco products	6 meetings on Tobacco and tobacco products have been held between 2010 and 2019. The objectives of such meetings are to discuss and define the most appropriate parameters, analytical techniques or methods related to the control of tobacco and tobacco products.
Workshop on textiles and shoes	29-30 May 2012, Athens - 88 participants from 24 Member States and 3 Candidate Countries During this technical workshop, participants had the opportunity to discuss and exchange views on practical aspects, with real case examples. The main two fields discussed were classification and control, as well as safety. This workshop is a good example of enhanced cooperation between customs, laboratories and the industry.