Initiative by the Government of the French Republic with a view to adopting a Council Decision on the protection of the euro against counterfeiting
Date: 2001-03-07
Institutions: France
Subjects: France, euro, fraud, industrial counterfeiting, penalty, power of initiative

7.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 75/1

II

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title VI of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL

Initiative by the Government of the French Republic with a view to adopting a Council Decision
on the protection of the euro against counterfeiting

(2001/C 75/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in
particular Article 31 and Article 34(2)(c) thereof,

Having regard to the initiative by the French Republic (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on
the introduction of the euro (3) lays down that currency
denominated in euro shall start to be put into circulation
as from 1 January 2002 and obliges the participating
Member States to ensure adequate sanctions against
counterfeiting and falsification of euro banknotes and
coins.

The measures to protect the euro put in place by
previous instruments should be supplemented and
strengthened by provisions ensuring close cooperation
between the competent authorities of the Member States,
the European Central Bank, the national central banks,
Europol and Eurojust to suppress offences involving
counterfeiting of the euro,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision:

— ‘counterfeit notes’ and ‘counterfeit coins’ shall mean notes
and coins defined as such by Article 2 of the Council

Regulation (EC) No .../2001 of ..., laying down measures
necessary for the protection of the euro against forgery (4),

— ‘counterfeiting’ or ‘forgery’ of the euro shall mean the
conduct described in Articles 3 to 5 of the Council
Framework Decision 2000/383/JHA of 29 May 2000 on
increasing protection by criminal penalties and other
sanctions against counterfeiting in connection with the
introduction of the euro (5),

— ‘competent authorities’ shall mean the authorities desig-
nated by the Member States to centralise information, in
particular the national central offices, and to detect,
investigate or punish the offences of ‘counterfeiting’ or
‘forgery’ of the euro,

— ‘technical and statistical data’ shall mean data as defined

in Article 2 of the Council Regulation (EC) No .../2001,

— ‘Geneva Convention’ shall mean the International Con-
vention for the Suppression of Counterfeiting Currency,
signed at Geneva on 20 April 1929.

Article 2

Expert analysis of coins and notes

Member States shall ensure that in the context of criminal
investigations into counterfeiting of the euro:

(a)

the necessary expert analyses of suspected counterfeit
notes are carried out by the National Analysis Centre
(NAC) designated pursuant
to Article 4(1) of Regu-
lation (EC) No .../2001;

and

(b)

the necessary expert analyses of suspected counterfeit
coins are carried out by the National Coin Analysis Centre

(1) OJ C ...
(2) OJ C ...
(3) OJ L 139, 11.5.1998, p. 1.

(4) OJ L ...
(5) OJ L 140, 14.6.2000, p. 1.

C 75/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

7.3.2001

(NCAC) established or designated pursuant to Article 5(1)
of Regulation (EC) No .../2001.

Article 3

Forwarding of the results of expert analyses

Member States shall ensure that the results of the analyses
carried out by the NAC and the NCAC in accordance with
Article 2 are communicated to Europol in accordance with the
Convention establishing a European Police Office (Europol
Convention) (1) in cases where the investigations relate to the
forms of organised crime referred to in Article 2(1) of that
Convention.

Article 4

Obligation to communicate information

1. Member States shall ensure that the national central
offices referred to in Article 12 of the Geneva Convention
communicate to Europol, through the national units, relevant
centralised information on criminal investigations into forging
including information obtained from third
of
countries.

the euro,

3.
The competent authorities of the Member States shall
exchange with the Provisional Judicial Cooperation Unit and
subsequently with Eurojust, once the Decision establishing it
has been adopted, all relevant information concerning criminal
investigations in order to help establish the facts and ensure
effective action against counterfeiting of the euro. Europol and
Eurojust shall provide the competent authorities of the Member
States with all necessary technical assistance in order to
facilitate coordination of investigations undertaken and to
improve and facilitate cooperation between the competent
investigative and prosecuting bodies of the Member States.

Article 5

Previous convictions

the
Every Member State shall recognise the principle of
recognition of previous convictions under the conditions
prescribed by its domestic law and, under those same con-
ditions, shall recognise for the purpose of establishing habitual
criminality final sentences handed down in another Member
State for the offences referred to in Articles 3 to 5 of the
Council Framework Decision 2000/383/JHA, or the offences
referred to in Article 3 of the Geneva Convention, irrespective
of the currency counterfeited.

Article 6

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication
in the Official Journal.

2.
The list of information to be communicated shall be
drawn up by the Member States. It shall include the particulars
of the dossier, the particulars of the forgery, the circumstances
in which the forgery was discovered, the context of the seizure
and the links with other dossiers.

Done at ...

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 2.