From text to practice: the Customs Ecosystem Congress
The EU customs reform has moved from negotiation to implementation. The congress asks what that means in practice - for the administrations, for business and for academia.
The open day of the congress takes place on 14 October 2026 at the University of Liège, Faculty of Law, and marks the first anniversary of the Vilnius Manifesto. It follows a closed working session of the Manifesto signatories held the day before, and opens with the presentation of its conclusions.
The day continues with keynotes from the European Commission and the Council Presidency, followed by two sets of roundtables - an academic section and a private-sector section. Each reads the same four workstreams the Commission has identified for the reform's secondary legislation: Trust and Check and the import process, risk management, the EU Customs Data Hub, and the EU Customs Authority and special procedures. Two readings of the same instruments, one legal and academic, one operational.
The closing session, "Customs Knowledge and Practice Hub: its urgency in the age of technology and AI", asks what the new Union Customs Code means for professional competence. The code takes automation a step further and shifts roles between the actors. Under Article 38(4), acts remain the acts of the persons and authorities performing them, even where they are carried out automatically. Responsibility stays with people, in the authorities and in business alike. Acting as one across the external border will take more than one data environment - it will also take one shared understanding of the law.
The session brings together contributions from:
-
Frank Heijmann, Counsellor Customs, Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the European Union
-
Godfried Smit, Secretary General, European Shippers' Council
-
Enrika Naujokė, Director, Lithuanian Customs Practitioners Association
-
Arūnas Adomėnas, Customs Attaché, Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Union
-
Martin Reuter, Head of EUCAB
-
Massimo de Gregorio, President of CONFIAD
The day closes with the Teloneum Aureum award and an evening reception.
CustomsClear is supporting media for the congress.
