Kalfon added, the fact that France already hosts several other European Union agencies — there are five on French soil, plus the European Parliament in Strasbourg — shouldn’t count against the bid.
Lille has some geographic advantages compared to those other three cities officially in the running. It is just over 100 kilometers from Brussels, and well connected to many major airports and harbors — a key asset for an authority charged with monitoring customs data from all over the bloc to keep out unsafe and illicit products.
Still, Paris is taking no chances after two recent stinging defeats in bids to host the bloc’s anti-money laundering authority and its medicines agency.
France wants to host the future authority in a state-of-the-art new building next to Lille train station. | Giorgio Leali/POLITICO
Laurent Saint-Martin, who recently served as both trade and budget minister for France, along with former WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, are leading the bid.
Saint-Martin told POLITICO while walking down the steps of what he hopes will be the future customs authority HQ that the key was to get out of the starting blocks early, reaching out to other countries and MEPs — even if the exact voting procedure hasn’t been settled on yet.
Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Croatia could soon launch their own bids for hosting the customs authority, according to several officials with direct knowledge of their plans who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to comment. And candidate countries are lobbying to host the it in chats with officials from EU member countries.