Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

This proposal for a Decision to amend Directive 2014/62/EU on the protection of the euro is part of a package of proposals adopted by the Commission that seek to rationalise and simplify reporting requirements on companies and public administrations, in line with the Commission’s Communication on the ‘Long-term competitiveness of the EU: looking beyond 2030’ (COM(2023)168). The rapporteur can fully support the general objective of reducing administrative burden and streamlining legislation, where this well justified and has no negative impact on policy objectives.

In this specific case, the Commission proposes to abolish the obligation for Member States’ competent authorities to transmit statistical data to the Commission on the number of counterfeiting offences and on the number of persons prosecuted and convicted of the counterfeiting offences, as laid down in Article 11 of Directive 2014/62/EU. The rapporteur can support this proposal, given that it will not undermine the policy objectives of Directive 2014/62/EU nor the overview and comparability of statistical data used to monitor the phenomenon of counterfeiting. In particular, the timely exchange of full, up-to-date and comparable data at national and European level is in place via the Counterfeiting Monitoring System, a dedicated ECB platform, where Member States’ authorities register data on counterfeit banknotes and coins on a regular basis, in accordance with Articles 3(3), 4(2) and 5(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting. This centralised information is made available to the Member States, the Commission and Europol. It is complemented by public reports and the collection of qualitative information in expert groups, and enables the Commission to have an overview of the size and trends of the counterfeiting phenomenon, to monitor the situation, and to assess the effectiveness of the overall EU legislative framework in place.

The rapporteur’s support for this proposal is also based on the clear understanding that - as the Commission has itself emphasised - this proposal should in no way lead to a systematic reduction or deletion of reporting obligations provided for in other EU criminal law instruments.

For these reasons, the rapporteur is proposing that this Commission proposal be adopted without amendments.

The rapporteur nonetheless wishes to stress that he - and the LIBE Committee as a whole - will continue to call on the Commission to effectively monitor the proper transposition and implementation by Member States of EU law, and to take prompt and adequate action where necessary, including by launching infringement procedures.