EU customs: Council agrees on key features for more modern, efficient and secure framework

The Council today agreed on a partial negotiating mandate on a fundamental reform of the EU customs framework. The overhaul will give customs authorities across the EU a more modern toolbox to deal with trends such as huge increases in trade volumes, especially in e-commerce, a fast-growing number of EU standards that must be checked at the border and shifting geopolitical realities and crises.

The agreement will allow inter-institutional negotiations with the European Parliament to begin on the core aspects of the reform, such as:

- Etablishment of a new decentralized agency for customs - the EU customs authority

- Creation of a single EU-wide online environment - the EU customs data hub

- Enhanced customs simplifications for the most trusted traders

- Development of a more modern approach to e-commerce

The Council’s partial negotiating mandate makes a number of amendments to the original Commission proposal. For example, the text clarifies in more detail certain customs processes and retains the existing authorized economic operators (AEO) scheme.  Finally, the text introduces the new concept of a handling fee to be collected by customs authorities on small consignments.

Next steps: Following today’s adoption of the Council’s partial negotiating mandate the presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament on the file.

More detailed information to be found here (Council of the EU, press release of 27 June 2025).