January the 31st, 2026 – Zagreb is now a candidate to become the European Customs Agency headquarters, with Croatia being hailed as one of the safest countries in Europe.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/VL/Tomislav Krasnec writes, representatives of the countries and cities that have put forward their candidacy for the seat of the European Customs Agency were heard on Wednesday before the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Davor Božinović, Croatia’s Interior Minister, and Mario Demirović, Director of the Customs Administration, spoke about Zagreb’s candidacy. “Choosing Zagreb means choosing a comprehensive European solution. We offer a secure environment with strong operational capacity. Zagreb lies at the crossroads of European transport and trade corridors with excellent connections. The proximity of the EU’s external borders also represents a clear operational advantage. Croatia is among the safest countries in Europe. From a financial perspective, Croatia offers the most cost-effective solution for the EUCA: no rental and operational costs, it offers long-term budgetary predictability and stability, as well as high standards and efficiency,” stated Minister Božinović.
In his presentation, he stated that Zagreb being the home of the European Customs Agency headquarters would provide the possibility of education being provided in numerous languages. Božinović also stressed that Croatia is the only candidate that doesn’t currently have any EU agencies at all based on its territory. Choosing Zagreb would bring a better geographical balance in the distribution of European agencies, he concluded.
The details of the Croatian candidacy state that the building at Radoslava Cimermana 88 in Novi Zagreb, spanning an area of 10,415 square metres across five floors, has an estimated rental cost of 35,000 euros per month, cleaning costs of one euro per square metre per month and interior decoration (renovation) costs of 130 euros per square metre. It should be stated however that all these costs (at least during the first nine years of the lease) will be covered entirely by the government.
“These costs don’t actually exist. In fact, the offer is the most generous,” explained Mario Demirović, adding that the building also has equipped apartments to accommodate 45 officials. In the first round, the candidacies of Bucharest in Romania, Lieger in Belgium, Lille in France and Malaga in Spain were all presented. This was followed by questions from the representatives and answers from the representatives of the four candidacies. In the second round, the candidacies of Porto in Portugal, Rome in Italy, The Hague in the Netherlands and Zagreb were presented.
In addition to the EU Council, the European Parliament has the role of co-decision-maker, through which the EU’s Member States themselves decide. It isn’t yet known when a final decision can be realistically expected. The European Customs Agency is otherwise due to start operating in 2028 and will have around 250 officials.
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