The European Commission’s 2026 work programme signals a sharper turn toward digital sovereignty, trade expansion, and simplification. For customs professionals, three levers stand out: a new Cloud & AI Development Act, fresh market-opening trade tracks, and a push to cut administrative burdens (especially for SMEs). Together, they set the stage for faster declarations, richer data pipelines, and more automated compliance.
The programme explicitly trails a Cloud and AI Development Act to strengthen EU digital sovereignty—think standards that could influence where trade data lives, how models are governed, and how auditability is enforced for AI features such as anomaly detection, HS classification assistance, or fraud/risk flags. For platforms, expect requirements around portability, security baselines, and transparent decisioning that could trickle into customs workflows, especially where AI assists in data validation and error-explain/auto-fix.
Bringing a “fifth freedom” (knowledge/innovation) into the Single Market by 2028 could accelerate cross-border data sharing, R&D collaborations, and trusted interfaces between customs, ports, carriers, and traders—critical for pre-lodgement, advance risk, and ICS-style safety & security regimes. Expect more interoperability pushes and smoother paths for reg-tech pilots.
A proposed EU Critical Raw Materials Centre (monitoring, joint purchasing, stockpiles) signals tighter visibility over strategic inputs. For importers/exporters, this may mean earlier policy signals on licensing, origin scrutiny, and tariff preference strategies, with downstream effects on customs valuation, special procedures, and declaration data quality expectations.
Beyond recent deals, negotiations are ongoing with India, Malaysia, Thailand, UAE, and the Philippines. If these progress, expect new preference pathways and documentation patterns that compliance teams will need to operationalise quickly (origin proofs, supplier statements, product-specific rules, cumulation). A proactive readiness plan—templates, supplier attestations, preference eligibility checklists—will pay off.
The Commission wants to cut administrative burdens by 25% overall and 35% for SMEs, streamlining reporting and speeding permitting. For customs users, this could translate into cleaner interfaces between EU rules and national implementations—and less friction in documentary compliance. Watch for targeted simplifications that ripple into declarations, transit, and special procedures.
Within the security/migration track, the plan reiterates the digitalisation of returns—another clear sign that cross-border processes continue to move online with shared data rails. While not a customs declaration per se, the same digital infrastructure mindset—common data models, secure exchange, status visibility—tends to spill over into customs and trade-facilitation reforms.
As Brussels leans into AI and simplification, Customs Declarations UK can help teams operationalise the changes fast—wizard-based CDS/ENS flows, re-usable templates, validation rules, and training modules to onboard new preference regimes
2026 looks like a “policy-meets-platforms” year. If you align your data, origin evidence, and AI-assisted workflows now, you’ll be ready to capitalise on new preferences, reduced admin, and a more interoperable Single Market.
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