The European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a political agreement to carry out this reform, which will provide the twenty-seven member states with more tools to face trends such as "the enormous increase in trade volumes," especially electronic trade, or "increasingly complex geopolitical realities," according to a statement.

The reform aims to "facilitate global trade, collect customs duties more efficiently and strengthen controls on non-compliant, dangerous or unsafe goods." To this end, it contemplates "stronger controls without imposing an excessive burden on authorities and commercial operators."

The new legislation introduces an EU-level management fee for all small-package items entering the EU, with the European Commission setting the amount.

A new decentralised customs agency—the EU Customs Authority—will be created. Its main role will be to oversee the bloc's customs data centre and support national authorities' risk management work. The agency will be headquartered in the French city of Lille.

On 25 March, the EU selected Lille to host the new agency, choosing it over Malaga and other European cities that sought the headquarters.

Lille was chosen in a joint vote between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. They valued the preparedness and "strong track record" of French customs. The cybersecurity environment was also considered key to protecting the large amount of customs data. This data will be managed by the approximately 250 employees of the new agency.