Brussels, 17/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 16 April, the European Parliament approved, by 545 votes in favour, eight against and 21 abstentions, the trilogue agreement reached on 12 February on the draft directive which aims to improve the protection of the euro and other currencies from forgery by standardising the minimum criteria for the criminal sanctions laid down (including imprisonment). The text has still to be approved by the member states at a forthcoming meeting of the Council, following the preliminary agreement of Coreper. Following the publication of the directive in the Official Journal, theoretically scheduled for June 2014, the member states will have two years to transpose it into their national legislations.
This text, together with the directive on budget fraud, “mark a strong and unified response to protecting our currency and clamping down on criminals that want to pocket EU taxpayers' money”, said, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding, and European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-fraud Algirdas Semeta. Since the euro was introduced in 2002, counterfeiting has cost the EU €500 million, according to estimates. The text lays down measures to reinforce cross-border investigations and common maximum sentences, including imprisonment for up to 8 years for producing full-scale currency and five years for distributing it. The directive will also make it possible to analyse seized forgeries in order to detect other counterfeit euros in circulation. (EL)