Greece supports the introduction — as early as the beginning of 2026 — of a customs fee on all small parcels arriving from China or other non-EU countries, according to a statement by Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis during today’s ECOFIN meeting in Brussels. The meeting discussed the EU proposal to impose a €2 duty per parcel, a plan first revealed six months ago by Proto Thema.
Mr. Pierrakakis said that Athens proposes implementing the measure sooner than the current EU timetable — following the example of France, which has already begun introducing it.
In his statement, Mr. Pierrakakis noted:
“During these two days of Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings, we discussed a wide range of issues — from the introduction of the digital euro and the regulation of stablecoins, to energy taxation and customs reform.
Regarding customs duties, I would like to emphasize that Greece fully supports the European Commission’s proposal to abolish the current €150 minimum threshold, thereby allowing duties to be imposed on low-value parcels from third countries entering the EU.
We believe this policy is crucial for ensuring transparency in e-commerce, protecting European consumers, and creating a level playing field for European businesses.
I would also like to underline that Greece fully supports France’s position calling for the earliest possible implementation of this measure — from the beginning of 2026. It is an extremely important issue for the EU customs union and the European Union as a whole.”
It is worth recalling that, following Proto Thema’s earlier report, the European retail sector mobilized and pressed Brussels to adopt and accelerate the introduction of this customs duty on purchases from Chinese platforms such as Temu and Shein.
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