A recent report by the European Commission has highlighted a serious weakness in the customs system: in 2024 only 0.0082% of products imported into EU territory were inspected, equivalent to one in every 12,171 cases. In absolute figures, 392,529 checks were carried out on more than 4.777 billion items declared in customs of the 27 member states, and 64,322 of them were blocked for failing to comply with the sanitary, safety, or quality standards required by the EU. The Commission itself acknowledges that this level of scrutiny is insufficient, given the growing volume of imports, especially small low-value packages linked to the boom in e-commerce.
The disparity among member states is notable: while some managed to reject up to 175 products per million imports, others barely blocked any, creating a worrying imbalance. EU sources admit that this lack of harmonization may become an incentive for importers seeking to slip in non-compliant goods to divert their shipments to countries with weaker controls. The report does not disclose which states performed worst, precisely to avoid this ‘pull effect,’ but the situation in key ports, such as those in Belgium, has already raised alarms. Local police and press have reported a rise in mafias taking advantage of congestion and the lack of inspections to bring in illicit or counterfeit goods, sometimes with the collusion of port staff.
The causes of this structural weakness are varied. On the one hand, the explosion of e-commerce has tripled imports in just two years, from 1.5 billion items in 2022 to nearly 4.8 billion in 2024. Added to this is the fragmentation of customs systems: each country uses different technological platforms, many of which are still not updated to the EU Customs Code, making uniform risk analysis difficult. Furthermore, penalties for non-compliance vary widely among member states, and there are not always financial incentives to strengthen controls. All this creates an uneven patchwork that ultimately benefits those seeking to introduce dangerous or fraudulent products into the European market.
The Commission has begun a dialogue with the most lagging states and insists that the forthcoming reform of EU customs will modernize surveillance through the use of a single data system, the so-called EU DataHub, and tools such as the Import Control System 2 (ICS2), which will require advance declarations for every shipment, even low-value ones. In addition, from this year, the exemption for packages under €150 will disappear, meaning that all products will have to present full customs documentation. Brussels is confident these measures will improve risk management and strengthen cooperation between national authorities.
However, consumer organizations and some MEPs warn that the reforms will be insufficient if uniform application across all member states is not ensured. The fact that in 2024, 82% of rejected products came from China and that the most affected categories were medical items, household products, and electronics shows that the threats are not abstract, but concrete and significant. The lack of controls not only compromises the health and technical safety of millions of Europeans, but also facilitates the work of criminal networks that have already turned customs weaknesses into a lucrative business.
