I'm very pleased that this year the International Conference on IP Crime has been organized by Interpol in Europe for the second time after 2009 in Dublin. We have witnessed an expanding interest of the European countries in their commitment to take illicit trade, interoperability crime, counterfeiting and piracy over the last few years. This is reflected in the increased number of operational activities coordinated by Interpol in Europe. Operation Black Poseidon in Eastern Europe, White Mercury in the Balkans, Oxford in the European region and beyond are just an example of how this commitment is higher today and these operations target criminal groups using illicit trade as a major source of funding for their criminal ventures. We are fully committed to building on this success in the coming year and this conference provides us with the ideal platform to enhance cooperation with the public sector and the private sector in the fight against interoperability crime.