On January 15, 2026, Belgium officially submitted Liège's bid to host the headquarters of the future European Union Customs Authority (EUCA).
On January 15, 2026, Belgium officially submitted Liège's bid to host the headquarters of the future European Union Customs Authority (EUCA). The bid highlights a key element: ULiège's expertise in customs law.
The creation of the EUCA is part of the ongoing reform of the Customs Union. The aim is to better coordinate data management, risk analysis, and controls at the EU's external borders, in a context of globalized supply chains, growth in e-commerce, and rapidly evolving fraud patterns. The choice of headquarters must therefore enable the Authority to quickly draw on a network of expertise, training, and research, in conjunction with national administrations and practitioners in the sector.
This expertise is embodied in the Customs & Trade Law Academy, which offers teaching and research programs that are recognized at the European level. "Our programs train the professionals who will shape the customs of tomorrow," says Professor Vanessa Franssen, head of the Academy.
ULiège offers one of the most advanced Master's degrees in customs law in Europe and continuing education courses aimed at administrations, companies, and practitioners in international trade. Research is equally important: innovative projects, such as E-Origin (using artificial intelligence and blockchain), anticipate regulatory changes and the needs of supervisory authorities.
In addition, ULiège co-founded with the University of Antwerp the only European inter-university chair dedicated to customs sanctions law and policy. It aims to shed light on the modernization of often complex mechanisms, at the crossroads of administrative and criminal procedures, and to strengthen the effectiveness of prosecutions and controls.
As part of the reform of the EU Customs Code, ULiège recently brought together 19 institutions from 11 Member States to submit a proposal for an amendment to the European institutions: to give the EUCA the possibility of directly financing the research and training necessary for its missions. "Customs law experts at the University of Liège took the initiative to draft this letter," said Prof. Marc Bourgeois, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Political Science, and Criminology at ULiège.
For Vanessa Franssen, this budgetary capacity would be a concrete lever to make the Authority fully operational:
The EUCA must be able to finance without delay the projects, studies, and training that strengthen the capacity of customs to act.Vanessa Franssen, Professor and Head of the Academy
By putting itself forward as a candidate, Liège is promoting a model in which a strategic European agency can rely on a center of academic excellence capable of training, evaluating, and anticipating developments in a particularly complex and rapidly changing legal field. With its expertise in customs law, its academic networks, and its applied research, ULiège is a natural partner for the EUCA, benefiting administrations, economic operators, and, more broadly, the security of international trade within the Union.
A chair for more efficient customs
Press release from the Council of Rectors dated February 4, 2026.
This new report highlights not only the remarkable dynamism of the academic community, but also the significant progress made during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Press release from the Council of Rectors dated January 26, 2026.
