COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the mid-term evaluation of the Programme for exchange, assistance and training for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting ('Pericles 2020' Programme)

The Pericles 2020 Programme (hereinafter ‘Pericles 2020’ or the ‘Programme’) was established by Regulation (EU) No 331/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on 11 March 2014 (hereinafter 'the Regulation') for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020. It is a European Union (EU) initiative intended to contribute to the protection of the euro. In particular, the Programme provides financial support to activities intended to strengthen the capacity to prevent and combat counterfeiting of the euro and related fraud in relevant authorities in EU Member States (MS) as well as in countries outside of the EU (hereinafter ‘third countries’).

In accordance with the Regulation, an independent mid-term evaluation (hereinafter 'the Evaluation') of the Programme shall be presented by the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council by 31 December 2017. The Evaluation was carried out by an external contractor and run from 04/08/2016 until 30/06/2017; it assessed the Programme's implementation to date and provided an outlook on the future activities of the Programme.

The Evaluation assessed the performance of the Programme to date in the context of the objectives detailed in Article 13 (4) of the Regulation taking into consideration all elements necessary to support a decision to either renew, modify or suspend the measures/types of actions financed under the Programme. In line with Article 13 (5) of the Regulation, the Evaluation also assessed the long-term impact and the sustainability of the effects of the Programme with a view to informing a decision on a possible renewal, modification or suspension of any subsequent programme. Results on the long-term impact of the predecessor Programme actions such as the overall added value, the prospects of the Programme's sustainability and recommendations from previous evaluations were taken into account during this Evaluation.

The Evaluation primarily focused on the Pericles 2020 actions for which a commitment was made between 1 January 2014 and 30 June 2016. In practice, the Evaluation involved the analysis of 27 actions, involving a total initial EU budgetary commitment of about € 2.3 million (i.e. about one third of total Pericles 2020 resources). For the purpose of extrapolating the assessment of long term effects, the analysis of the Programme's actions was supplemented with the review of the previous Pericles Programme.

Fact finding work involved the review of a variety of documentary sources, interviews with various institutions, and an online survey. The consultations with stakeholders were extensive and involved interviews with 56 entities as well as the surveying of 227 participants in Programme's actions. Considering the extensive consultations and owing to the very specific and specialised scope of the Programme, the Evaluation was exempted from carrying out an Open Public Consultation (OPC).

The Evaluation covered all the five evaluation criteria typically used in the assessment of EU programmes, namely: (i) relevance; (ii) effectiveness; (iii) efficiency; (iv) EU added value; (v) coherence. In addition the evaluation also considered a sixth criteria: (vi) sustainability.

The key findings of the Evaluation can be grouped by the following evaluation criteria.

Relevance. All available evidence suggests that the general and specific objectives are relevant and are likely to remain so during the Programme’s life. Stakeholders concur that the strengthening of institutional capacity in national authorities, which constitutes Pericles 2020’s ‘core business’, is regarded as an essential element to safeguard the euro.

Effectiveness and Sustainability. Pericles 2020 actions were typically implemented as planned and achieved the intended outputs. Actions were usually implemented in a timely manner, with marginal changes in the work plans; only one action out of 27 incurred significant delays, due to justified reasons. The number of participants in events was largely in line with expectations. The Programme was successful in broadening its reach beyond the EU with two thirds of participants coming from non-euro countries, as well as beyond the ‘traditional constituency’ of law enforcement officers, with a significant increase in the participation of representatives of judiciary, but also monetary, authorities.

Efficiency. The analysis of Programme's documentation and the comparison with documentation on other EU programmes suggest that the funds deployed for the implementation of Pericles 2020 actions are used judiciously. Cost-effectiveness considerations play a major role in the selection of actions to be financed, with beneficial effects on unit costs.

Pericles 2020 is a small programme and overhead costs, although limited in absolute terms, shows a high incidence. However, the Programme is highly specific and its possible merging with other EU programmes to achieve economies of scale would in all likelihood lead to a decline in the effectiveness of euro protection actions, which in turn may well more than offset possible financial savings.