Brussels, 22/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - According to a press statement released on Thursday by the European Central Bank (ECB), 311,925 Euro notes were withdrawn from circulation during the second half of 2003. This constitutes a 30% increase on the figures for the first half of the year. Most counterfeiting involved EUR 50 notes (52%), then EUR 20 notes (30%) and EUR 100 notes (12.7%). The ECB explained that the total number of forged notes discovered in 2003 (551, 287) was about 20% lower than the total number of counterfeits of the legacy currencies reported by the Euro area national central banks in 2001. The ECB points out that EUR 9 bn (genuine) are in circulation and that EUR 120 bn cash transactions per year involving euro bank notes.