European Commission 30 June 2022, REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK concerning the implementation and the results of the Pericles IV programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting in 2021

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This is the European Commission's annual report to the European Parliament, the Council, and the European Central Bank pursuant to Article 12(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/840, covering the implementation and results of the Pericles IV programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting in 2021. The Programme, established for the period 2021–2027 and extended to non-participating Member States by Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1696, committed 100% of its EUR 834,082 annual budget to nine projects, comprising five Member State grants and four Commission actions, with implementation affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Key quantitative indicators for 2021 include 347,000 counterfeit banknotes and 195,082 counterfeit coins detected, 11 illegal workshops dismantled, a 98.4% participant satisfaction rate, and 5 unique competent authorities applying to the Programme, with priorities for 2022 focusing on cooperation among affected Member States, third-country engagement, and emerging threats such as darknet distribution and 'movie money' products.AI