EU Council Endorses New 3 Euro Customs Fee For Small Packages

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 13, 2026

Overview Of The New Customs Regulation

The European Union Council has approved a minimum fee of 3 euros for every small package entering the EU from third countries, effective from July. This decision is part of a broader revision of customs duties designed to modernize and level the playing field in the age of global e-commerce.

Addressing Unfair Competition

Under the existing framework, many low-value parcels, largely shipped from China, enter the EU without customs duties. This practice has long been criticised for distorting competition and disadvantaging European retailers. The planned removal of the exemption for packages valued under €150 is expected to strengthen local businesses and limit unfair pricing strategies by foreign sellers. Finance Minister Makis Keravnos noted that updating customs rules is essential for both market competitiveness and consumer protection.

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Implementation Timeline And Key Measures

A central element of the reform is the abolition of the value-based duty exemption for parcels below €150. Customs duties will gradually be applied to all goods once the EU Customs Data Hub becomes operational, which is currently projected for 2028. In the interim, Member States have agreed on a temporary unified fee of €3 per parcel for items below the €150 threshold when shipped directly to consumers.

Differentiated Duty Charges By Item Category

From July 2026, the duty will be calculated according to the number of tariff categories contained within a package. For example, if a parcel includes two different clothing items classified under separate tariff codes, the total fee will amount to €6. This approach aims to ensure more accurate assessments and greater consistency in customs treatment across imported goods.

Economic Impact And Future Considerations

The revised customs structure is expected to generate additional revenue for both the EU budget and national treasuries, as customs duties remain an important financial resource for the Union. Officials also clarified that the €3 parcel fee is separate from a proposed processing charge that is still under discussion within the wider customs reform package.

Concluding Remarks

With global online trade continuing to expand, the EU’s decision represents a strategic effort to update its customs framework and restore balance between domestic and international sellers. Clear timelines and structured implementation measures suggest that the new system could significantly reshape how small cross-border shipments are handled within the European market.

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Copyright Law Struggles To Keep Up With AI Training

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.

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