EU customs are under rising pressure from non-compliant imports, especially e-commerce parcels from outside the bloc.
In 2025, the Commission said e-commerce parcels made up over 97 per cent of EU shipments.
Businesses get an updated restrictions list, while importers and online sellers face reforms aimed at tighter checks on goods entering or leaving the EU.
Around 6 billion items were released for free circulation in 2025, three times more than in 2022, largely driven by e-commerce from outside the EU, the European Commission said in the report.
E-commerce parcels now account for over 97 per cent of all shipments entering the EU, while the EU control rate fell to 65 items per million items imported.
The commission said the rate of goods ultimately refused at the border because of non-compliance or serious risks also fell to below 10 items per million. A large-scale customs investigation launched by the commission in 2025 found that over 60 per cent of checked toys, small electronics, cosmetics, personal protective equipment and food supplements bought online from outside the EU failed to meet EU product compliance and safety requirements.
The report also highlighted uneven enforcement across the EU. In 2025, the best-performing Member State recorded a discovery rate 384 times higher than the worst-performing one. To narrow those gaps, it launched monitoring actions and structured dialogues to support national action plans, with underperforming Member States identified last year improving significantly in this year’s assessment.
The commission also updated its Integrated EU Prohibitions and Restrictions List, a tool to identify EU rules on banned or restricted goods entering or leaving the EU. The update reflects changes in the legal framework and is intended to give businesses and customs authorities greater clarity.
The report analyses statistical data provided by Member States on product compliance controls at the EU’s external borders, carried out by customs in cooperation with market surveillance authorities. It covers both traditional imports and e-commerce imports and follows Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products.
The EU Customs Reform entering into force in 2026 will step up action against non-compliant imports, especially those linked to e-commerce from outside the EU, added the report.
The new EU Customs Authority in Lille will coordinate risk management across Member States, while a central EU Customs Data Hub will gradually replace national systems. The forthcoming European Product Act package, including horizontal provisions for the Digital Product Passport, is also expected to strengthen information-sharing and enforcement against non-compliant products.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk
