Brussels, 12/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 11 March, the Council of EU finance ministers approved the third programming period for the Pericles programme (for 2014-2020) that was launched in 2002 to protect the single currency from counterfeiting and other forms of fraud. Pericles 2020 will have a budget of €7.34 million, which will be used, for example, to finance the purchase of equipment to be used by specialised anti-counterfeiting authorities. The programme will support the exchange of best practice, the dissemination of information, and technical, scientific and operational assistance. The programme targets the participation of police forces and financial administrations, as well as representatives of national central banks, mints and judicial officers. (EL)