European Union Customs Authority (EUCA): a traditional institutional structure with a few specific features

The European Union Customs Authority (EUCA) will have an institutional framework common to all decentralized European agencies, the principles of which are set forth in the joint declaration of the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission dated July 19, 2012 [1] .

Its governance structure is organized around a board of directors, an executive board, and a president/director—a model found in many agencies, including the European Railway Agency (Article 46 of Regulation 2016/796)[2] , the European Union Agency for Drugs (Article 22 of Regulation 2023/1322)[3] , the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Article 3 of Regulation 2019/127)[4] or the Authority for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (AMLA) (Article 56 of Regulation 2024/1620)[5] .

However, it does have some unique features, dictated by the specific needs of the Customs Union.

(all subsequent references to articles of the new UCC correspond to articles in the draft regulation implementing the new UCC and EUCA and will need to be updated upon the final publication of the text).

I. The EUCA Board of Directors

A) Une composition classique

The EUCA Board of Directors is composed of one member appointed by each Member State and one member appointed by the Commission, all of whom have the right to vote (Article 212(1) of the new UCC). In addition, there is a representative of the European Parliament who, however, does not have the right to vote (Article 212(2) of the new UCC).

The EUCA Board of Directors is composed of one member appointed by each Member State and one member appointed by the Commission, all of whom have the right to vote (Article 212(1) of the new UCC). In addition, there is a representative of the European Parliament who, however, does not have the right to vote (Article 212(2) of the new UCC).

The term of office for members of the Management Board and their alternates is set at four years, renewable (Article 212(5) of the new UCC). This term is standard for the vast majority of European agencies. Members of certain agencies, such as the European Fisheries Control Agency, serve five-year terms, which are also renewable[6] . Members of the European Environment Agency serve four-year terms that may be renewed only once[7] .

B) Expanded budgetary and administrative authority

The EUCA’s Board of Directors has multiple functions, all of which are similar to those of the boards of directors of other European agencies. Among the most important are defining the authority’s general guidelines (Article 215(1)(a)), adopting the single programming document following an opinion from the European Commission (Article 215(1)(r) and (s)), establishing financial rules (Article 215(1)(d)), adopting the annual budget (Article 215(1)(b)), and establishing the working groups and expert panels on which the EUCA relies (Article 215(1)(zc)).

A distinctive feature of the EUCA’s Board of Directors is its discretion to decide whether or not to establish an Executive Board (Article 215(0b) of the new UCC). It should be noted that in the original text of the draft regulation establishing the future UCC, the creation of the Executive Board was mandatory. It is now merely optional and depends on the Board of Directors’ discretion.

Decisions of the Board of Directors are generally made by an absolute majority of its members with voting rights (Article 216, §1 of the new UCC). However, a two-thirds majority of its members with voting rights is sufficient for certain decisions (general policy, budget, internal strategy, appointment of the executive director, cooperation strategy, among others).

It is worth noting that within the EUCA, there is no mechanism for appealing or reviewing decisions. By way of comparison, the European Union Agency for Railways has one or more boards of appeal through which appeals may be filed against the Agency’s decisions or its failure to act within the applicable time limits[8] . The European Chemicals Agency has a “Board of Appeal”[9] and the AMLA[10] has an administrative review commission. The EUCA has none of these bodies.

II. The Executive Director of EUCA

A) Directeur nommé par le Conseil d’administration sur proposition de la Commission

The EUCA is headed by an Executive Director (Article 218 of the new UCC). The EUCA’s Executive Director should not be confused with the Chair of the Board of Directors (Article 213 of the new UCC).

The Executive Director of the EUCA is appointed by the Governing Board on the basis of their administrative and managerial skills, as well as their relevant expertise (Article 218(1) of the new UCC). The selection is made from a list of at least three candidates proposed by the Commission, following a call for applications published in the Official Journal of the EU (Article 218(1) of the EUCA).

The procedure for appointing the Executive Director of EUCA follows the standard model for European agencies. In the vast majority of cases, the Management Board makes the appointment on the basis of a list of candidates proposed by the Commission. This model is also found, amongst others, at the EUDA[11] , Eurofound[12] , CEPOL[13] , l’ENISA[14] , the European Fisheries Control Agency[15] oand the European Environment Agency[16] .

The term of office of the Executive Director of EUCA is five years, renewable once (Article 218(2) of the new UCC). Before the expiry of the initial five-year term, the Governing Board shall carry out an assessment taking into account the Director’s performance (Article 218(2) of the new UCC). On the basis of this assessment, the Governing Board may extend the Executive Director’s term of office once for a maximum period of five years (Article 218(3) of the new UCC)

B) Management, audit and strategic skills

The Executive Director of the EUCA is responsible for the management of the customs authority and is accountable to the Management Board (Article 219(1) of the new UCC). He or she shall perform his or her duties in complete independence, without seeking or accepting instructions from any government or any other body whatsoever (Article 219(2) of the new UCC). He is the legal representative of the Authority (Article 219(4) of the new UCC) and responds to invitations from the European Parliament and the Council to report on his performance (Article 219(3) of the new UCC).

The Director prepares recommendations aimed at assisting national customs authorities in carrying out their duties (Article 219(5)(0a) of the new UCC). He is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Authority and implements the decisions adopted by its Governing Board (Article 219(5)(a) and (b) of the new UCC). He draws up the draft single programming document, implements it and reports on its implementation (Article 219(5)(c) and (d) of the new UCC). He prepares the consolidated annual activity report (Article 219(5)(e) of the new UCC).

The Director shall draw up an action plan to follow up on the findings of audits and investigations carried out by OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (Article 219(5)(f) of the new UCC). The Director shall protect the Union’s financial interests by taking preventive measures against fraud (Article 219(5)(g) of the new UCC).

The Director draws up the Authority’s action strategies (anti-fraud, efficiency, cooperation, organisational management) and submits them to the Management Board for approval (Article 219(5)(h) of the new UCC). He or she draws up the draft financial rules (Article 219(5)(i) of the new UCC) and implements the budget (Article 219(5)(j) of the new UCC).

Finally, the Director exercises the powers of the Authority that the Authority decides to delegate to him (Article 219(5)(k) of the new UCC).

IV. The Deputy Executive Director

The EUCA Governing Board may decide to create the post of Deputy Executive Director to assist the Executive Director in the performance of his or her duties (Article 220(1) of the new UCC). If the post is created, the provisions relating to appointment, term of office and removal from office shall apply in the same way as for the Executive Director.

The Deputy Executive Director assists the Executive Director in the management of the Authority and in the performance of his or her duties. In the event of the Executive Director’s absence or unavailability, or if the post is vacant, the Deputy Executive Director acts as his or her replacement (Article 221 of the EUCA).

It is worth noting that such a post is by no means found in all agencies. Many agencies, such as the EU Agency for Railways[17] , EUDA[18] , Eurofound[19] , CEPOL[20] , ENISA[21] and Europol[22] do not have a Deputy Executive Director.

III. The Executive Council: an optional body

A) A limited team

The EUCA may, if it so wishes, establish an Executive Board (Article 215(1)(ma) of the new UCC expressly states “if such a board is established”). Where established, the EUCA’s Executive Board reports to the Board of Directors (Article 217(0) of the new UCC).

The members of the Executive Board are appointed from amongst its members with voting rights (Article 217(1) of the new UCC). The Executive Board comprises one member of the Governing Board designated by the Commission and four other members appointed by the Governing Board from amongst its members with voting rights. It elects its Chair from among its members (Article 217(5) of the UCC). The Executive Director of the EUCA attends meetings of the Executive Board without the right to vote (Article 217(5) of the UCC).

This structure, comprising a representative of the Commission and representatives of the Management Board, is quite similar to the Executive Boards (or Executive Committees) of other European agencies, although there are a few differences. By way of comparison, at the EUDA[23] , the Chair of the Management Board is also Chair of the Executive Board. At the EUCA, these two roles are separate.

B) Supervisory and emergency assignments

The EUCA Executive Board, if established, plays a limited role.

He oversees the preparatory work for decisions of the Management Board (Article 217(2)(a) of the new UCC). Together with the Management Board, he ensures that follow-up is given to the findings of internal and external audits, as well as to investigations by OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (Article 217(2)(b) of the new UCC). He monitors the implementation of the Management Board’s decisions (Article 217(2)(c) of the new UCC).

In the event of an emergency, it may take provisional decisions on behalf of the Governing Board (Article 217(3) of the new UCC), in particular on matters of administrative management, the suspension of the delegation of appointment powers, or crisis situations (Article 217(3)(a) and (b) of the new UCC). Provisional decisions taken by the Executive Board in an emergency must be confirmed by a formal decision of the Governing Board within 90 days, failing which they cease to have effect (Article 217(4) of the UCC).

The remit of the EUCA Board is similar to that traditionally assigned to the boards and executive committees of other European agencies, including the European Union Agency for Railways[24] , EUDA[25] , Cedefop[26] , and ENISA[27] , among others.

where a crisis situation has been identified

It should also be noted that some EU agencies have Executive Boards with more extensive powers. This is the case with AMLA, whose Executive Board holds the bulk of its operational powers. Indeed, the Executive Board adopts the draft single programming document (Article 64(4)(a) of Regulation 2024/1620), the draft annual budget (Article 64(4)(b) of Regulation 2024/1620), the consolidated annual report (Article 64(4)(c) of Regulation 2024/1620) and appoints the Executive Director (Article 64(4)(i) of Regulation 2024/1620), amongst other things.

V. The Data Auditor: an institutional innovation

Data Auditor

Data Auditor

The role of Data Auditor was not originally provided for in the draft text of the future UCC. The creation of the Data Auditor represents an institutional innovation linked to the establishment of the EU Customs Data Hub, a unique infrastructure with no equivalent in the EU. No other European agency has such a data centre, nor, consequently, an auditor specifically tasked with monitoring the lawfulness of access to this platform. The Data Auditor thus meets this need for a new form of oversight.

VI. Summary

An analysis of EUCA’s governance reveals an institutional structure that follows the traditional model of the European Union’s decentralised agencies. Its composition, the remit of its Management Board, the appointment procedures and the duties of its Executive Director all adhere to standards found in the vast majority of European agencies.

However, the EUCA has three distinctive features:

• Firstly, its Board of Directors has the unique power to decide whether or not to establish an Executive Board (Article 215(0b) of the new UCC), an option not available to other agencies.
• Secondly, once established, the Executive Board may intervene in the event of a ‘crisis situation’ (Article 217(3)(b) of the new UCC), a power directly linked to the lessons learnt from recent crises (the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions).
• Thirdly, the EUCA is breaking new ground with the creation of a Data Auditor, a role that is closely linked to its unique infrastructure – the EU Customs Data Hub – and which is not found in other European agencies.

The EUCA is therefore a hybrid case: traditional in its structure, yet innovative in certain governance mechanisms, straddling the line between the standard agency model and the specific requirements of customs cooperation.

 

By Evguenia DEREVIANKINE , founding partner

and Matthieu LAVASSEUR, lawyer

 

June 22, 2026

 

[1] joint_statement_on_decentralised_agencies_en.pdf

[2] Regulation (EU) 2016/796 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004.

[3] Regulation (EU) 2023/1322 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2023 on the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006.

[4] Regulation (EU) 2019/127 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 January 2019 establishing the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75.

[5] Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 establishing the Authority for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010.

[6] Regulation 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2049 on the European Fisheries Control Agency, Article 33(3).

[7] Regulation (CE) N° 401/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network, Article 10a(3).

[8] Article 58§1 of the Regulation 2016/796

[9] Article 5§ (j) of Proposal for a Regulation of the European parliament and of the Council the European Chemicals Agency and amending Regulations (EC) No 1907/2006, (EU) No 528/2012, (EU) No 649/2012 and (EU) 2019/1021

[10] Article 72 of the Regulation 2024/1620

[11] Article 29§2 of the Regulation 1920/2006

[12] Article 19§2 of the Regulation 2019/127

[13] Article 23§ of the Regulation 2015/2119

[14] Article 36§2 of the Regulation 2019/881

[15] Article 39§1 of the Regulation 2019/473

[16] Article 9§1 of the Regulation 401/2009

[17] Article 46 of the Regulation 2016/796

[18] Article 22§1 of the Regulation 2023/1322

[19] Article 3 of the Regulation 2019/127

[20] Article 7 of the Regulation 2015/2219

[21] Article 13 of the Regulation 2019/881

[22] Article 9 of the Regulation 2016/794

[23] Article 28§3 of the Regulation 2023/1322

[24] Article 53§2 of the Regulation 2016/796

[25] Article 28§1 et §2 of the Regulation 2023/1322

[26] Article 10§2 et §3 of the Regulation 2019/28

[27] Article 19§2 et §7 of the Regulation 2019/881