Gualtieri: “Rome is a strong candidate to host the European Customs Authority”

Brussels – “Rome is always in the running by definition,” but this time, perhaps more than ever. The mayor of the capital, Roberto Gualtieri, knows that bringing the new European Customs Authority to Rome will not be easy, but he believes in it. “We have put forward a strong bid,” he emphasises. “Rome offers a unique location, an entire building,” while the other candidates offer a location “with shopping centres and offices,” and therefore this offers different credentials in terms of security. In addition, “Rome offers direct flights from Fiumicino, which is 15 minutes away,” “international schools for employees’ children,” and “a city accustomed to hosting international organisations.”

In short, Gualtieri summarises: “We offer a complete package,” and in terms of competing cities, “few offer all these things, and none offer them all together.” Among the contenders are Bucharest (Romania), The Hague (Netherlands), Liège (Belgium), Lille (France), Malaga (Spain), Porto (Portugal), Warsaw (Poland), and Zagreb (Croatia). 

Rome, therefore, seems to be in a strong position to secure the new EU‑mandated Customs Authority. At least, this is what Gualtieri explained in his presentation in the Internal Market Committee of the European Parliament. The mayor of Rome was supposed to be accompanied by the Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, who remained in Italy due to institutional commitments.

“The Italian bid is concrete and credible. It places no burden on the Union’s budget,” said Denis Nesci, MEP from Fratelli d’Italia–ECR and shadow rapporteur on the Union Customs Code file. During the hearings in the IMCO Committee, Nesci recalled that, in response to one of his questions, Deputy Economy Minister Federico Freni confirmed that “all costs related to the building — including furniture, fittings, maintenance, and utilities — will be fully covered by the Italian state, with no direct or indirect cost for EUCA.”