EU Customs Authority: Council and Parliament agree procedure to select a host city 13:45 The Council and the Parliament have agreed on the procedure to select a host city for[...]

Today, the Council formally approved the procedure agreed with the European Parliament to select a host city for the new EU Customs Authority (EUCA). The authority will be tasked with coordinating customs action and supporting the activities of national customs authorities consistently across the Union.

The common understanding finalised today establishes a robust decision-making process that respects the autonomy of each institution. The final decision on the seat will be taken on 25 March during an informal inter-institutional meeting at political level between the co-legislators.

In October 2025, the European Commission launched a call for applications for member states to express their interest in hosting EUCA. Nine member states submitted applications by the deadline: Belgium (Liège), Croatia (Zagreb), France (Lille), Italy (Rome), Netherlands (The Hague), Poland (Warsaw), Portugal (Porto), Romania (Bucharest), and Spain (Málaga).

Selection procedure

Under the agreed procedure, the Council and the Parliament will each independently select two preferred candidate cities from the nine that have applied, based on an assessment carried out by the European Commission.

The two institutions will then meet to reveal their selections. If one candidate appears on both shortlists, that candidate will be automatically declared as selected, and no further voting will be required. If there is no overlap, the co-legislators will proceed to a series of voting rounds to select a candidate.

Next steps

The Council and Parliament will both select their respective preferred candidates on 25 March. On the same day, the co-legislators will meet to present their preferred candidates and to proceed with voting rounds, if needed.

Background

The establishment of EUCA forms part of the work to reform the EU's overall customs framework so that it can deal with the significant pressure arising from increased trade flows, fragmented national systems, the rapid rise of e-commerce and shifting geopolitical realities. Negotiations between the Council and the European Parliament on this overall reform are ongoing.

• Common understanding on the process for selecting the seat of the EU Customs Authority
• Modernising the EU customs union (background information)
• Selection of the seat of the European Union Customs Authority (European Commission)