EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 9.6.2020 COM(2020) 230 final REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL concerning the implementation and the results of the Pericles 2020 programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting in 2019



REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL concerning the implementation and the results of the Pericles 2020 programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting in 2019 1.General The ''Pericles 2020'' programme (hereafter ''the Programme") is an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting. It replaces the Pericles programme that was established in 2001 and ran during the period 2002-2013. The Programme was established by Regulation (EU) No 331/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014. Its application was extended to the non-participating Member States by Council Regulation (EU) 2015/768 of 11 May 2015. Regulation (EU) No 331/2014 establishes the duration of the Programme until 31 December 2020. Article 13(3) of the Regulation requires the Commission to provide annual information on the results of the Programme to the European Parliament and to the Council. This Annual Report responds to that requirement in relation to the year 2019. 2.Annual Work Programme 2019 a.Implementation of the Annual Work Programme in 2019 The annual budget for the implementation of the Programme for the year 2019 was set at EUR 1 072 400 and was financed from the budget line 01. 020400 of the general budget of the European Union for 2019. A total of EUR 1 064 821 was committed in 2019. The Programme is implemented through co-financed actions (grants) originating from the competent authorities of the Member States and through ''Commission actions'', organised directly by the Commission. A transfer of EUR 213 854 was made from the Commission actions budget to the grants budget in 2019 to further support the implementation of the actions of the Member States. The implementation of the Programme reflected the commitment of Member States and the Commission to protect the euro against counterfeiting. Discussions of the multi-annual strategy at the meetings of the Euro Counterfeiting Experts Group (ECEG) made it possible to commit 99.29% of the overall budget in 2019. In 2019, the Programme funded 13 projects in total. Altogether, 10 grants were succesfully awarded from applications originating from the competent authorities of the Member States, an increase from 8 grants in 2018. Two applications submitted in the second deadline were not awarded a grant due to the limited budget available. Furthermore, 3 Commission actions were funded, the same number as the previous year. 7 actions were implemented in 2019, while 6 actions are being/will be implemented in 2020 and later. Chart I and Chart II: Type of action financed and Number of actions per Member State (actions committed to in 2019, see annex I) It is noteworthy that France, Italy and Spain, the Member States most affected by euro counterfeiting, this year again applied for grants. In addition, Portugal, and Bulgaria and Croatia as non-participating Member States, have also participated as beneficiaries to the programme in 2019. Of particular note is the Prosecutor’s Office of Bulgaria, as a first time applicant to the programme, which demonstrates the increasing participation of more competent national authorities as beneficiaries to the programme. All their efforts enhance the protection of the euro which is beneficial to all other Member States. The actions for which commitments were made in 2019 consist of 7 seminars/conferences, 4 technical trainings, and 2 staff exchanges. The actions take place both inside and outside the EU depending on the specific needs to protect the euro against counterfeiting. Since its inception, the Programme has consolidated its regional approach by implementing actions involving particularly sensitive regions of the world. Of specific focus are Latin America (the seminar organised by Spain in Chile and by Portugal involving Brazilian representatives), South-Eastern Europe (actions organised by Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and the Commission) and China (a dedicated seminar organised by the Italian UCIFM in Rome, Italy). Charts III and IV give a breakdown of the origin and professional background of participants to the Programme: Chart III and Chart IV: Origin of participants and Professional background of participants (actions committed to in 2019, see annex I) An estimated number of 637 experts participated in actions for which commitments were made in 2019. In terms of origin, participants come from 64 countries. The majority of trainees (75%) are European participants: 39% come from the euro area Member States, while non-EU countries in Europe represent 18% and Non-Euro Area Member States have increased to 18%; 11% of trainees are from Latin America, a significant decrease compared to the previous year. Finally, 4% come from Africa and the Middle East and 4% from Asia.

With respect to the professional background of participants, members from police forces represent 43% of the total. That prominent presence is due to the fact that police authorities represent the front line in the fight against euro counterfeiting, and police staff includes both investigators and technicians. However, for the second time in the implementation of the Pericles 2020 programme, police authorities do not represent the absolute majority of participants in 2019. Other categories of participants account for 57% of the total, an increase from 46% in the previous year. The substantial participation of central banks has remained nearly constant with (22%) and there is a significant increase in participation of members of the judiciary (11%). Of particular note is the participation of customs (6%), commercial banks (3%) and mints (2%), reflecting a full range of professional backgrounds of the participants. Finally, the implementation of the Commission action ''Test Pack Testing Action'' results in a high participation of representatives from the coin processing machine (CPM) industry (5%) for the fourth year in a row, which continues to affirm the private sector as a significant stakeholder in the fight against counterfeiting. As a result, the implementation of the Programme meets the transnational and multidisciplinary dimensions of the Programme required under Regulation (EU) No 331/2014. b.Overview of actions under the Annual Work Programme 2019 A comprehensive overview of Pericles actions under the 2019 Annual Work Programme can be found in Annex I. The following actions can be highlighted: Regional international cooperation The Programme has succeeded to maintain and further strengthen strong regional international cooperation in 2019: ·The Spanish BIBE organised a co-financed action in Chile, bringing together experts from a large number of Latin American countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay. This action promoted measures to protect the euro against counterfeiting in Latin American countries that are potentially susceptible to it, and supported the establishment and functioning of the Chilean National Central Office. ·Four actions took/will take place in South Eastern Europe, maintaining and further strengthening strong regional international cooperation in this region. This includes the co-financed Croatian National Bank-organised “Fourth conference of the Balkan Network for Euro Protection” which brings together national and commercial banks from the entire region to share best practices. This conference supports the functioning and information exchange of an early alert system among the countries involved. ·New geographical areas covered by the Pericles 2020 programme: Two co-financed actions, organised by the French Office Central pour la Répression du Faux Monnayage and the National Bank of Portugal respectively, seek to build up a strong cooperation network with and among countries in Africa and the Middle-East, demonstrating to them the European legislative framework, the need to set up a National Central Office to centralise information, and best practices in the fight against euro counterfeiting. Furthermore, a co-financed action organised by the Bulgarian National Bank seeks to foster such cooperation between the Black Sea countries, focussing on the technical handling of counterfeit euro banknotes and coins. EU-China cooperation Of particular note is the co-financed Italian UCIFM-organised conference on “Legal and operational framework on counterfeit currency in Europe and China” to be held in Rome in 2020, which seeks to further extend on the cooperation platform established by the EU China platform meeting/seminars on the protection of currencies against counterfeiting of November 2017 in Brussels and January 2019 in Beijing. The meeting will involve participation of the relevant Chinese authorities involved in the fight against currency counterfeiting, the EU Institutions as well as representatives from Member States particularly affected by euro counterfeiting. The action intends to treat topics such as the exchange of best practices on the dismantling and identification of illegal printshops and mints, the distribution of counterfeits on the internet/darknet, the channels for the exchange of operational information and European and Chinese legal frameworks for the protection of currencies against counterfeiting. Classification and/or authentication of euro coins and banknotes Several actions committed in 2019 focussed on issues related to the classification and/or authentication of euro coins: ·A co-financed training activity on counterfeit coins analysis for technical experts organised by the Bank of Spain; ·A hands-on training course on the classification of euro coins in France as Commission action, which also addressed a Member State backlog in coin classification;