Brussels, 07/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 6 May, EU finance ministers adopted a directive to improve protection of the euro and other currencies against counterfeiting by introducing uniform minimum criteria for criminal sanctions prison sentence.
The directive includes measures to boost cross-border investigations and common maximum sentences of eight years for manufacturing counterfeit currencies and five years for distributing counterfeit currencies. The rules will allow the study of counterfeit coins and notes seized during legal proceedings in order to detect false notes and coins in circulation and will come into force in June 2014. Member states will have two years to introduce the rules into their own legislation. Ireland has decided to introduce the directive, but Denmark and the United Kingdom have chosen not to.
Taxation Commissioner Algirdas Semeta welcomed the adoption of the rules endorsed by the European Parliament on 16 April 2014 (see EUROPE 11063). “These new rules against euro-counterfeiting will boost confidence in our common currency, and help to protect honest businesses and citizens from ending up with fake money in their pockets. While the final text has less bite than the Commission would have liked, it is nonetheless an important advance on where we stand today. The euro is better protected against criminals, thanks to this new law adopted today”. The inter-institutional agreement rejected the idea of introducing a minimum six-month prison sentence for serious cases of manufacturing and distributing fake currencies.
Johannes Hahn, standing in for Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding (who is on leave to stand in the European elections), said: '”Criminals seeking to undermine the strength of the euro must be duly punished. Today's endorsement marks a strong resolve to protect our currency for honest businesses and citizens and sends a stark warning to criminals”.
Since the introduction of the euro, counterfeiting has cost the EU an estimated €500 million. Some 353,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn in the second half of 2013. (EL)