EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/408

(2004/C 78 E/0430)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2580/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(6 August 2003)

Subject: Expectations of an increase in the production of counterfeit euro bank notes in thinly-populated countries where the euro is important as a parallel currency

1. Can the Commission confirm that, to date, the production of counterfeit money in the euro zone has been concentrated in thinly-populated areas in France and Spain and that this has resulted in losses of EUR 16 million for consumers and business?

2. Do new technologies where, for example, computer printers replace offset presses increase the potential for producing counterfeit bank notes which are difficult to distinguish from genuine ones, despite the use of watermarks, holograms and metal strips?

3. What is current ratio of counterfeit euros to the other widely used currency, the US dollar? Is the counterfeiting of euros moving towards the dollar level?

4. Does the Commission share Europol's expectation that the combination of the enlargement of EU territory and easily crossed frontiers, together with the increasingly important role of the euro as a parallel currency in countries with low incomes and high unemployment, increases the likelihood of a sharp increase in the near future of the production of counterfeit euros in thinly-populated areas and the transport thereof to densely-populated areas?

5. How will the Commission duly protect consumers and business in the future from the risk that they may unwittingly come into the possession of counterfeit bank notes which, on discovery, will not have the face value ascribed to them when they were accepted?

Source: The 18 July 2003 edition of ‘Rotterdams Dagblad’, a Dutch newspaper

Supplementary answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(28 October 2003)

There are no indications that the production of counterfeit money is concentrated in thinly populated areas in any of the Member States. According to information from the European Central Bank (ECB) the number of counterfeit euro banknotes withdrawn from circulation was 167 118 in 2002 and 230 534 in the first half of 2003. In face value, this represents about EUR 8,5 million in 2002 and EUR 11,5 million in the first half of 2003.

In comparison to the EUR 8 billion genuine banknotes currently in circulation, the above number of counterfeit banknotes is very small.

The number of counterfeit euro coins detected in circulation amount to 2 339 pieces in 2002 and 7 875 in the first half of 2003 for a corresponding amount of EUR 3 355 and EUR 13 036,50 respectively. Overall, with more than EUR 45 billion coins in circulation the number of counterfeit euro coins is very small.

Modern technology, like computer printers, provides the possibility for persons with no or little knowledge in printing to produce counterfeit banknotes. The quality of these more recent types of counterfeits is generally low. Thus it is generally easier to detect counterfeits produced with these new technologies than those that are printed on offset presses.

The level of euro counterfeiting is by far lower than the counterfeiting of United States dollars.

There is no indication currently that the level of counterfeit euros is moving towards the counterfeit United States dollar level.

The Commission is not aware of any specific indication for the likelihood of a sharp increase. However, the larger the financial area where a currency is used the higher the risk of counterfeiting that currency. It is also known that counterfeiters from countries outside the Union are targeting the euro. The competent authorities in the Member States and at European level (Europol, ECB, Commission) are taking all appropriate measures, in collaboration with the authorities of third countries, to prevent euro counterfeiting.

These include:

— enhanced collaboration between all authorities competent in the fight against counterfeiting (law enforcement, central banks, Finance Ministries, etc.);

— intense training, general and specialised, at national, Union and international level, of which the main vehicle is the specific programme Pericles for exchange, assistance and training, managed by the Commission;

— continuous monitoring of the implementation of relevant legislation by the Member States; reporting and proposals, where appropriate;

— specialised information campaigns, mainly carried out by the ECB.

With regard to citizens, the increase in police cooperation, with the contribution of Europol, has raised the guarantees offered to the public. It is also important that the public should be familiar with the security features of the genuine euro banknotes. In this respect, the ‘look — feel — tilt’ method of checking the euro banknotes' authenticity, described in the information material of the ECB, has proved to be an effective means of detecting counterfeits.