Nine cities are vying to host a new EU-wide customs agency to police the millions of cheap packages, many of them from China, that are flooding Europe’s freight terminals every day.

Founded in 1968, the customs union was one of the European Union’ earliest achievements, eliminating duties on goods moving between member countries and replacing them with a single tariff system for non-EU imports.

But it has been ill-maintained and barely harmonized, with 27 national agencies that overlap in their work and use different risk profiles to handle sketchy cargoes such as unsafe toys from China or illegal drugs.

That will change with the creation of a new EU Customs Agency (EUCA) — expected by 2028 — as part of an ambitious overhaul of the bloc’s customs law to efficiently deal with an uncheckable amount of risky shipments.

EU institutions are now selecting a city to host the EUCA and its 250 officials, whose main task will be to oversee a huge data hub to exchange all information about incoming and outgoing shipments.

EU capitals and the European Parliament are still wrangling over the voting procedure, with lawmakers pushing back against countries’ attempts to keep the crucial say over who gets to host EUCA.

In the meantime, the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee will hear pitches by the nine candidate cities in a speed-dating format on Wednesday.

Here’s how they line up:

The Eager Beaver — Lille, France

Plus: A big head start.

Minus: No one wants France to win.

If anyone has a head start, it’s the French city of Lille. Weeks before the European Commission closed the window for candidates, Lille was buffing itself up as the ideal city. However, when a delegation of customs officials and press visited the northern city, several expressed their concerns with how close the proposed EUCA building is to its neighbors. “The Russians could just camp out next door,” one quipped later in Brussels.

Custom fact: France has forced an EU-wide discussion on e-commerce and small packages by saying it will impose its own domestic fee. However, that’s now up in the air with the national budget.

EUCA’n rating:

The Justice Warrior — The Hague, Netherlands

Plus: Located right in the middle between Rotterdam and Schiphol.

Minus: Not in Rotterdam or Schiphol.

The Hague might not be a logistics hub but the bid from the Dutch political capital is that it sits between Europe’s largest seaport and Schiphol Airport, one of the bloc’s busiest for both passengers and freight. With the city also hosting justice and police agencies Eurojust and Europol, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, it calls itself the City of Peace and Justice.

Custom fact: Will be housed in the building of the former Yugoslavia tribunal, a short bike ride (of course) from the beaches at Scheveningen.

EUCA’n rating:

The Connector — Rome, Italy

Plus: Historic connections between European regions and North Africa.

Minus: Came in at the last minute because Milan lacked a suitable property.

The Eternal City is one of the few capitals that has no EU agency at all, with the two others in Italy hosted by Turin and Parma. In its application, the city underlines the building it has selected for EUCA — in the brutalist Mussolini-era EUR neighborhood — is directly connected to Frankfurt’s Internet Exchange “ensuring high redundancy and direct peering with major global operators and content providers.”

Where most cities present a swanky high-tech accommodation, the Roman site is one of the more historic buildings among all nine candidates: “completed in 1958, the building is a remarkable example of post-war architecture.”

Custom fact: Close to the Trappist beer-brewing monks of Tre Fontane.

EUCA’n rating:

The Digital Nomad — Málaga, Spain

Plus: Upcoming cyber center and a resilient hub.

Minus: Spain’s Socialist-led government lacks allies on the European stage.

Aside from Bucharest, the southern Spanish city of Málaga is the furthest away from Brussels of all nine candidates. In its application, though, the city stresses the latency of its internet connection to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam of only 15 to 20 milliseconds. The bid also guarantees “service continuity even during cybersecurity incidents or physical disruptions.”

The partners of EUCA workers might just be able to find top jobs at Mercedes’ new research center on big data and AI, or the Spanish branch of Belgium’s semiconductor champion IMEC. And for those executive nomads Málaga ranks as Europe’s top city, according to property consultancy Savills.

Custom fact: While the national government is Socialist led, Andalusia is run by the conservative People’s Party. That might just help with convincing all those EPP governments in the Council.

EUCA’n rating:

The Frontline Pioneer — Warsaw, Poland

Plus: Frontline chops and overlap with Frontex.

Minus: Not a major cargo hub (yet).

Borders are security — and Poland argues it has the expertise to connect customs oversight to the management of the EU’s external borders, as it already does via the Frontex agency. In a confident application, the city writes: “Warsaw offers the best vantage point from which to understand the EU’s external borders. EUCA staff will work closely with the challenges associated with maritime, air and land border crossing points, supported by an experienced customs administration.”

The building Warsaw has on offer will only be ready in the second half of 2027, which might hurt the city’s chances despite assurances there is plenty of office space available.

Custom fact: The Warsaw mermaid makes for the coolest EUCA-bid logo.

EUCA’n rating:

The New Kid — Zagreb, Croatia

Plus: Croatia is one of few EU countries without an agency already.

Minus: Not a major cargo or air freight entry point into the bloc.

Crowning Croatia’s quick “maturing” after it joined the EU in 2013, and the eurozone and Schengen area in the meantime, would be hosting its first agency. Not having any agency is probably Zagreb’s strongest argument. With the other two countries lacking an EU authority being Cyprus and Bulgaria, the Croats have no competitor on this playing field.

The building Zagreb has selected has been up and running since 2021. The university partially uses the premises since the 2020 earthquake but “administrative relocation procedures are prepared and can be executed immediately.”

Custom fact: Zagreb doesn’t yet have an accredited European school, which might hurt its chances.

EUCA’n rating:

The History Buff — Porto, Portugal

Plus: Portugal all but invented customs centuries ago.

Minus: Far from the (logistical) core of Europe.

The mother of all ports is ready for a new era: heading the harmonizing of Europe’s customs rules from the very edge of the continent. Just across from Porto’s many wine houses is the historic Alfândega do Porto, which housed customs and border checks from the nineteenth century and now is a congress center.

Portugal also hopes to woo spouses of EUCA specialists with a 20 percent tax regime for the jobs they will find and claims it’s at the educational and academic forefront of Europe.

Custom fact: The swanky office building is right by the metro — but not built yet.

EUCA’n rating:

The Wildcard — Liège, Belgium

Plus: The airfreight hub is ground zero for the e-commerce parcel deluge.

Minus: Being a Walloon effort, the federal government is only doing the minimum.

Countless EU diplomats in Brussels told POLITICO the Liège bid is really coming from Wallonia, without much backing of the federal government in Brussels. Admittedly, Belgium did host an event at the Permanent Representation which took place almost entirely in English. Case in point: Liège doesn’t have a dedicated candidacy website.

While Liège has a major airfreight hub, the city is struggling to overcome its steel-making industrial past. It certainly could use a bit of European injection à la Strasbourg to become more vibrant. EUCA will need to be patient until early 2029, though: the building next to the famous Guillemins high-speed train station won’t be ready until then.

Custom fact: All the EU institutions could have been in Liège if history had played out a little bit differently.

EUCA’n rating:

The Long Shot — Bucharest, Romania

Plus: Hipster vibes in an oft-overlooked corner of Europe.

Minus: No one expected them to bid.

Customs is all about cohesion, argues Romania. “Hosting EUCA in Bucharest would reinforce the Union’s cohesion by placing a key strategic authority in a region essential for the security of European trade flows,” the application says, in a clear reference to how its Danube ports have become a lifeline for Ukraine over the last four years of Russian aggression. Interestingly, the venue for EUCA is bordered by a crumbling factory building and a Subaru dealership. But at least its available right away.

Custom fact: The new M6 metro line will connect both Bucharest airports with the city by 2028.

EUCA’n rating: