The euro is, as the single currency of the Union, a core European interest, the integrity of which needs to be protected in all its dimensions. Counterfeiting of the euro poses a true problem for the Union and for its institutions. Counterfeits harm citizens and businesses that are not reimbursed for counterfeits even if received in good faith. More generally, it impacts the legal tender status of and trust of citizens and businesses in genuine euro notes and coins. Thus, a solid protection of the euro against counterfeiting forms an essential component of security as one of the focal points of EU action, as noted in the reflection paper on the future of the EU's finances. The current ''Pericles 2020'' programme is specifically dedicated to the protection of euro banknotes and coins against counterfeiting. The Programme is an exchange, assistance and training programme. It supports the pillars on which the Commission's anti-counterfeiting policy is based: prevention, repression and cooperation. 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. Since the introduction of the euro as a single currency, there is the need to protect the euro against counterfeiting at EU level and to have a specific programme dedicated for this purpose. The euro entails, as the Unions' single currency, a high risk of counterfeiting which in turn has the potential to undermine the trust in the euro. Therefore the Pericles programme was established in 2001, which is the predecessor of the Pericles 2020 programme. The legal basis of the programme for the euro area Member States is Article 133 of the TFEU. The Pericles 2020 It is the only programme at the EU and international level exclusively dedicated to the protection of the euro. This ex-ante evaluation concerns the initiative to continue the Pericles 2020 programme, beyond 2020. The status of counterfeiting According to the latest bi-annual information on euro banknotes prepared by the ECB , 363,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in the second half of 2017. This corresponds to an increase of 9.7% when compared with the first half of 2017 and 2.8% more than in the second half of 2016. According to the latest Europol Serious Organised Crime Threat Assessment, the €20 and €50 notes continued to be the most counterfeited banknotes in the first half of 2017. Together, they accounted for 85% of the counterfeits. According to the latest Europol data, approximately 548,191 counterfeit banknotes were seized by the police in 2016. The total face value of these banknotes is approximately 30 million euro. 19 print shops and 3 illegal mints were dismantled within and outside the EU in 2016. Over the last years, an increasing number of deceptive counterfeit banknotes have been found, with security features (such as holograms) from China. The quality of counterfeit coins continued to improve in 2016, as demonstrated by an increasing number of counterfeits having electromagnetic properties close to the specification. In this respect, 12 new 2-euro variants and 1 1-euro variant of already existing common classes, were registered. They all have quite deceptive electrical or magnetic properties. A number of actions were carried to define the extent of the problem and to improve the detection by the coin-processing machines. When compared to 2015, 2016 marks an increase in two (2-euro and 50-cent) of the three higher denomination coins. In particular, 2 euro denomination counterfeits increased by 4.35 %, 1 euro decreased by 6.33 % and 50 cent increased by 0,84 % in comparison to 2015. In particular, in 2016 the 50 cent denomination maintains the second position, from a quantity point of view, (16.87 %) continuing the trend of the last three years. The 2 euro remains by far the most counterfeited denomination, constituting 87.10 % in terms of value (up from 86.19 % in 2015). Overall, 2 144 633 counterfeit euro coins have been removed from circulation since the introduction of euro coins in 2002 and 2016. When compared to 2016, 2017 marks an increase in two (2-euro and 50-cent) of the three higher denomination coins. In particular, 2 euro denomination counterfeits increased by 8.58 %, 1 euro decreased by 5.49 % and 50 cent increased by 10.18 % in comparison to 2016. Furthermore, in 2017 the 50 cent denomination maintains the second position, from a quantity point of view (17.36 % of the total) continuing the trend of the last three years. The 2 euro remains by far the most counterfeited denomination, constituting 87.9% in terms of value (up from 87.10 % in 2016). Overall, 2 305 547 counterfeit euro coins have been removed from circulation since the introduction of euro coins in 2002 until 2017. With respect to the criminal phenomenon of counterfeiting, the long-term view held by Europol, Member State national experts, the Commission and the European Central Bank, confirms the growing interest in euro counterfeiting of organised crime groups located outside EU. The involvement of organised crime groups continues to be a characteristic of this crime and contributes to the maintenance of a high level criminal threat. Moreover, 2017 Serious Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) states that together with an increased sale of counterfeit on the Darknet, the trafficking of counterfeits is also increasing. Trade on the Darknet market places has no country borders and affects countries within as well as outside the EU. Interaction with other instruments/programmes Pericles 2020’s distinct transnational and multi-disciplinary approach and focus on capacity-building to protect the euro makes it unique among EU-level programmes. Two Commission programmes may be viewed as complementary. DG HOME’s Police instrument of the Internal Security Fund (ISF Police) covers the prevention of and fight against crime in general, but only includes (indirect) efforts to prevent or combat euro (or currency) counterfeiting if linked to other types of crimes prioritised by the instrument (namely terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, and environmental crime). Furthermore, DG NEAR’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) instrument has supported activities related to euro counterfeiting, but these activities are of a different scale, duration and nature compared to Pericles 2020 actions and are often in support of accession negotiations. Several national and third country authorities have confirmed this effective complementarity. Both Commission programmes are also under consideration for renewal under the next Multi-annual Financial Framework.