Brussels, Dec. 2, 2025 (Lusa) - The minister of foreign affairs, the minister of finance and the mayor of Porto are, on Tuesday, presenting Portugal's bid to host the headquarters of the European Customs Authority in Brussels, with eight other countries also in the running.
At an event taking place today at Portugal's permanent representation to the European Union (EU), minister of foreign affairs Paulo Rangel, minister of finance Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, and the mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte, will present Portugal's bid to host the European Customs Authority (EUCA).
This is the official presentation in Brussels - after the application was formalised with the European Commission - to an audience composed of members of European institutions.
It is now up to the EU executive to evaluate and issue an opinion, in a decision that will be taken by the co-legislators (countries and MEPs), perhaps in February.
The EU Customs Authority is a new EU agency, proposed by the European Commission in 2023, which will be tasked with coordinating customs risk management between the different customs administrations of the EU member states.
In addition to Portugal, eight other countries are competing: Belgium (Liège), Spain (Málaga), France (Lille), Croatia (Zagreb), Italy (Rome), the Netherlands (The Hague), Poland (Warsaw) and Romania (Bucharest).
Last September, the Portuguese Government announced that it would submit a European application to host the new European Union Customs Authority in Porto, Portugal.
The executive announced at the time, through a statement released by the Ministry of Finance, that it would "proceed with an application for the selection process" because it considered that "Portugal meets the necessary conditions to host the facilities of this new entity".
For the Portuguese Government, the country's geographical location is one of the advantages of the application.
"The country is the natural gateway for transatlantic and intercontinental trade in Europe, with an extensive maritime border and a long tradition in customs matters," the Ministry of Finance argued at the time.
The "history of innovation, particularly in digitisation" of the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority was cited as another reason.
Regarding the choice of Porto as the candidate city to host the agency, the ministry explained that, taking into account the selection criteria, the city is the "most suitable, ensuring good accessibility and infrastructure, conditions for access to the labour market and education, security and quality of life".
However, the exact location was not mentioned.
The EU Customs Authority is to be established from 2026, with the European Commission responsible for its start-up.
Portugal's idea would be for the headquarters to be operational from next year, with around 250 staff working at the premises by 2034.
The EU executive will now evaluate the nine applications over the coming weeks, seeking to ensure that the location will enable the authority to carry out its tasks and powers, recruit highly qualified and specialised staff, and offer training opportunities.
Brussels will also check the accessibility of the location, the existence of social facilities, adequate access to social security and medical care, and geographical balance.
There are currently two decentralised EU agencies based in Portugal, more precisely in Lisbon, namely the European Maritime Safety Agency and the European Union Agency for Drugs.
Portugal unsuccessfully competed for the European Medicines Agency with Lisbon and Porto.
The EU has more than 30 decentralised agencies spread across several member states.
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