Finding a ‘home’ for the EU’s new agency – Romania’s uphill battle

As nine countries compete to host the EU Customs Authority (EUCA), Romania’s downside is reputational, writes Dick Roche.

EUalive’s columnist Dick Roche is a former Irish Minister of State for European Affairs.  His columns can be found here. 

The explosion of e-commerce poses a major challenge for Europe’s customs services. Every day, more than 12 million packages enter the EU.  In addition to over 4.5 billion packages, customs services across the EU deal with a further one billion import, export or transit transactions each year.

The EU Commission estimates that only 0.0082 percent of all imported packages – one in every 12,000 – are being checked by customs. The EU Court of Auditors has warned that, because of their low volume, checks are often not sufficiently rigorous and that  rules are being unevenly applied facilitating fraud.

In addition to the growing volume of trade the task of EU customs authorities has been made more challenging by the EU setting import compliance standards across  a wide range of products.

To address these challenges an EU Customs Authority (EUCA) is being established. EUCA which is due to be operational in 2028, will help manage and coordinate customs work across member states, centralise customs data, automate risk analysis, leaving less room for selective controls, standardise procedures, eliminating national variation that can be exploited, and increase transparency and traceability, facilitating audits and investigations.

A key first step will be for EUCA to establish a shared Customs Data Hub. Over time, the data hub will replace member state customs declaration systems and  IT infrastructure, simplifying procedures and cutting costs. It is suggested that up to € 2 billion per year will be saved across the EU.

The battle to provide a ‘home’ for the EU’s newest agency is underway. The decision is due to be made in February or March 2026.

Romania’s pitch to provide a ‘home’ for EUCA

Romania is one of nine EU states bidding to host the EUCA. In its pitch for EUCA Romania points to its management of over 2,000 kilometres of external EU borders with Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia and the Black Sea. It references the significance of traffic through Constanța port since the war in Ukraine and suggests that this frontline role provides strong expertise in risk management, crisis response and fraud prevention.

Romania enters crowded race to host powerful new EU customs authority

Romania also makes the point that hosting EUCA in an Eastern member state would reflect EU diversity. The main EU institutions are located in the six original EU member states. The EU’s thirty plus  ‘decentralised agencies’ are concentrated in the Western and Southern EU member states.   Distributing ‘new’ agencies across the EU to prevent concentration in Western Europe is an important political consideration.

At present Romanian is ‘home’ to  the Romania European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC), one of the EU’s smallest agencies with less than 50 staff. Poland which is also in the bidding for EUCA ‘hosts’ FRONTEX with a HQ staff of 2,500.

The need to ensure political balance should weigh in Romania’s favour in determining where EUCA will be based.

The elephant in the room

There is however a significant elephant in the room – corruption. While EUCA is not being created as an anti-corruption agency, its operations will  play a significant part in limiting  the opportunities for corruption.

Since becoming an EU member Romania has created one of the most elaborate anti-corruption institutional frameworks in Central and Eastern Europe. In spite of this Romania is regularly placed towards the bottom of EU member states in the Transparency International’ Corruption Perceptions Index. The problem is not simply a matter of perception, a carry-over from the past, it is very much a contemporary issue.

Allegations of corruption and organised crime on Romania’s borders were a factor in slowing Romania’s Schengen accession. Netherlands and Austria linked opposition to Romania’s admission to  Schengen to concerns about corruption in Romania’s border management.

In February this year Romania’s National Anti‑Corruption Directorate (DNA) carried out extensive operations at the Port of Constanța targeting customs officials and business leaders who were accused of bribery and abuse of office.  Charges are making their way through the system at present.

At the beginning of this month, current and former judges and prosecutors in Romania made eye-catching allegations about dysfunction, unethical practices, and abuses within the country’s justice system – not a good image for any member state.

Romania’s “Captured justice”: documentary sparks nationwide protests and demands for judicial reform

How all of this will play into the decision on Romania’s application to provide a ‘home’ for EUCA is hard to tell. Member states wary of reputational risk are likely to be unwilling to place the  new agency in a country associated with governance weaknesses. Others with ‘skin in the game’ who are offering or supporting an alternative home for EUCA will likely use Romania’s record to argue for a “lower-risk” location.

Caption: People carry a huge banner while shouting slogans as they march during a protest for judicial independence in downtown Bucharest, Romania, 14 December 2025. Thousands of people, organized by six NGOs, gathered for the fifth consecutive day to protest the country’s corrupt justice system. Protests broke out the day after the publication of the documentary ‘Captured Justice’ by investigative journalists from Recorder. The banner reads ‘SAVONEA DOES NOT REPRESENT THE JUSTICE, IT JUST CHOKE IT!’, referring to Lia Savonea, President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania (ICCJ, depicted on the right side. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

Updated: December 15, 2025 - 08:32