The first EU-wide customs structured operational cooperation
European Union Customs Alliance for Borders (EUCAB) is an expert team established under the Customs Programme to enhance customs operational cooperation at ports, land, and air borders, between Member States and with third countries.
It represents the first Union-wide organized collaboration initiative bringing together all Member States’ customs administrations towards a smarter and more resilient Customs Union.
EUCAB was formally launched during its kick-off meeting in Bonn, on 19–20 March 2025, that marked the transition from past initiatives – Customs Eastern and South-Eastern Land Border Expert Team (CELBET) and the European Ports Alliance Customs Expert Group – to a more integrated, all-border approach.
EUCAB is not a legal entity but a cooperation framework between EU Member States and their existing capacities, put together on a voluntary basis. EU Member States participate in, or contribute to, certain tasks, activities, or deliverables according to national legal frameworks, priorities, and competencies.
The expert team’s main role is to strengthen coordination among Member States’ customs administrations, improve communication on initiatives and common-interest projects, and facilitate the exchange of best practices.
Improving customs administrations’ capacity to effectively fight drug trafficking and all kinds of customs infringements, fiscal and non-fiscal, requires coordinated EU-wide action covering all modes of transport. Thus, EUCAB is structured into six working units: four operational units (Air & Post, Maritime, Land, and Mobile Cooperation), which are backed by two cross-sectional units (Coordination and Support).
Additional thematic networks of national experts are created under this framework. They will enhance EUCAB’s capacity to stimulate discussions and initiatives, and to foster collaboration across customs-related activities, inside EU as well as with third countries.
The follow-up of the project’s actions is ensured by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) and by the heads of the EU customs administrations on the Steering Committee.
