The Council of the European Union and European Parliament selected Lille to host the new European agency, who will be responsible for coordinating the activities of national customs across the Union, informed the Council in a press release.
9 countries submitted their applications in late November last year, to host the new agency and its future 250 staff members. The process had multiple voting rounds held by Parliament and Council, with the final rounds shortlisting Lille and Rome. In the end, it was the French city taking the position.
During a short press conference held after the vote, Dirk Gotink, rapporteur for the customs reform file, shared his confidence regarding the decision: “It is the right choice. France is one of Europe’s leading customs nations; one in three parcels entering the EU passes through French territory. Lille’s strategic location at the crossroads of Europe makes it the natural hub for this authority. This sends a clear signal: France will be central to the future of our customs union.”
Other contenders included Belgium (Liège), Croatia (Zagreb), Netherlands (The Hague), Poland (Warsaw), Portugal (Porto), Romania (Bucharest), and Spain (Málaga).
Considering France and its (now) 5 decentralised EU agencies (the highest number in the Union), journalists questioned this decision, pointing out that Croatia does not hold any EU institution. Gotink recognised the lack of geographical balance: “I think in the future Europe should keep in mind that the center of Europe is not a radius of 300 kilometers between Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Lille (…) it is important that other regions and areas in Europe feel also connected and represented.”
Some media outlets, however, pointed to the fact that the Croatian candidacy fell behind after Boris Vujcic, president of Croatia’s central bank, was appointed president of the European Central Bank.
With this decision, the European Commission will be able to finalise the reform of the Union’s overall customs framework, which was proposed in May 2023, and is set to respond to the rise of e-commerce and new geopolitical realities.
