French city Lille to host new EU Customs Authority

The European Union has selected the city of Lille, France, to host the new EU Customs Authority (EUCA), a central body designed to coordinate duty collection and safety inspections for goods entering the 27-nation bloc. The decision was finalized on Wednesday following a competitive bidding process among nine cities, with Lille ultimately prevailing over Rome in the final round. The authority is expected to be operational with a staff of approximately 250 personnel. The establishment of the EUCA is a key part of an extensive overhaul of customs operations intended to manage the massive influx of small packages arriving in the region. In 2025, the volume of low-value e-commerce parcels reached 5.8 billion. Under current regulations, the bloc does not apply customs duties on packages valued at less than 150 euros ($173.85), a policy that has supported the rapid growth of online shopping platforms such as Shein, Temu, and AliExpress, which ship goods directly to consumers from China. To better regulate these imports, the EU plans to introduce a 3 euro fee starting in July as a temporary measure before eventually eliminating the duty exemption for low-value goods. Beyond revenue collection, the reform is focused on tightening product safety controls. A study published this month by the European Commission found that between 60% and 65% of imported cosmetics, food supplements, and personal protective equipment, such as bicycle helmets, did not comply with EU safety standards. The broader modernization effort will replace individual national customs IT infrastructures with a new centralized EU data hub, a transition projected to save member states up to 2 billion euros annually in operating costs. This data hub is scheduled to launch for e-commerce consignments in 2028, followed by other importers on a voluntary basis in 2032, before becoming mandatory for all imports in 2038.