The First BORDERLINK EU Customs Forum

On Thursday, 3 September 2026, the final afternoon of the BORDERLINK Mid-Term Demonstrations and Assessments in Dublin was dedicated to hearing directly from customs officers. After two and a half days of port visits, hands-on sessions and plenary presentations, the First BORDERLINK EU Customs Forum posed a few simple question to the visiting representatives: How do you assess the current status of the innovation actions in terms of relevance, usefulness, quality and maturity? How can the results of the innovation actions be further completed and amended, so that your administration could put these innovations into practice in the daily Customs operations?

Participants shared their views through an online survey, an open-floor discussion and interviews recorded during the event. Taken together, their feedback gave the consortium a clearer picture of what works, what is still missing or can be completed/improved and what could stand in the way of implementation.

What customs officers want to use

The BORDERLINK’s X-ray innovations attracted particularly strong interest. Almost every survey respondent identified the Certified X-ray Operator Training, the Library of Synthetic X-ray Images and the Federated Database for Sharing X-ray Images as highly relevant for supporting their work as customs officers.

Participants appreciated being able to test the innovations themselves rather than simply watching demonstrations. They described the X-ray training platform as fully functional. The synthetic data platform, which allows users to create simulated X-ray images containing concealed threats, was seen as a genuinely novel tool with significant potential for developing AI-based X-ray image analysis and for training customs officers in X-ray image interpretation.

The Standard Test Units also made a strong impression, both as a practical means of testing and calibrating X-ray scanners and as a reminder of how difficult well-concealed goods can be to detect. One officer observed that the units demonstrated how deeply customs officers need to examine an image—and how much focused attention is required —to identify smuggled goods.

The Cloud Library for Reference Raman Spectra prompted a particularly practical discussion. Many customs administrations already use handheld Raman devices, but the equipment and reference libraries differ between administrations. A shared online database would allow officers to search for substances missing from their local libraries and download new spectra, helping them identify substances taking into account the diverging capacities of different brands and models of Raman devices, at the border more quickly. Its adoption, however, will depend heavily on ease of use. Laboratories could integrate the platform relatively easily, but frontline officers often need answers within seconds. Additional efforts will be dedicated to improve the process in terms of speed and easiness of use in the field, which currently requires spectra to be uploaded and downloaded through a separate computer, which is understood to be too slow for operational use.

Perhaps the most important message concerned the future, namely the second half of the Borderlink project. Participants considered the individual innovations distinctive and well developed, but believed that their greatest value would come from connecting them within a common operational workflow. As one participant put it:

“BORDERLINK is considering making them all work together, linking them in one workflow. And this, I believe, will be the best part of BORDERLINK in the end.”

Main barriers are legal, not technical

When asked about barriers to adoption, respondents rarely identified the technology itself as the main concern. The most frequently mentioned obstacle was the legal framework governing the sharing of data, such as X-ray images, between countries. Even in the current constellation where in the federated database the administration gathering the data/images would store it locally and make them available in a secured environment as under development by the University of Galway.  In order to analyse this aspect and to prepare a solution, a special action in Borderlink is set up by the University of Nottingham to try to remedy this current challenge. Other concerns included funding and the challenge of integrating new tools into existing strategies, management structures and operational workflows.

Participants also stressed that the customs control environment is changing rapidly. Administrations need to understand not only what new technologies can do, but also how to incorporate them effectively into day-to-day operations. Projects such as BORDERLINK allow customs authorities to build this knowledge and gain confidence before making investment and implementation decisions.

Several routes were suggested for advancing the innovations beyond the project: EU- and WCO-led activities, customs cooperation networks, the future EU Customs Authority, follow-up pilot projects and, above all, further testing under real operational conditions. The ultimate goal is that what are innovation actions now, become new operational customs an border forces working methods.

Interest in continuing to follow the project was high. The survey respondents said they would like to attend the final BORDERLINK event, which will be taking place in Hungary, planned for approximately 15 to 18 months from now.

The consortium thanks all participating customs administrations and officers for their efforts, time, openness and constructive feedback. Their input will feed directly into the next phase of development and help shape the innovations ahead of the final demonstrations.