Regulation (EU) 2021/840 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting for the period 2021-2027 (the ‘Pericles IV’ programme), and repealing Regulation (EU) No 331/2014

• CELEX: Regulation (EU) 2021/840
• Articles: 18

Article 1 Subject matter

This Regulation establishes an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the ‘Pericles IV’ programme), for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027.

It lays down the objectives of the Pericles IV programme, the budget for the period 2021-2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.

Article 2 Programme objectives

1.   The general objective of the Pericles IV programme shall be to prevent and combat counterfeiting and related fraud and preserve the integrity of the euro banknotes and coins, thus strengthening the trust of citizens and business in the genuineness of these banknotes and coins and therefore enhancing the trust in the Union’s economy, while securing the sustainability of public finances.

2.   The specific objective of the Pericles IV programme shall be to protect euro banknotes and coins against counterfeiting and related fraud, by supporting and supplementing the measures undertaken by Member States and assisting the competent national and Union authorities in their efforts to develop among themselves and with the Commission a close and regular cooperation and an exchange of best practice, where appropriate including third countries and international organisations.

Article 3 Budget

1.   The financial envelope for the implementation of the Pericles IV programme for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027 shall be EUR 6 193 284 in current prices.

2.   The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and by the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.

3.   The amount referred to in paragraph 1 may be used for technical and administrative assistance for the implementation of the Pericles IV programme, such as preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities, including corporate information technology systems.

Article 4 Implementation and forms of Union funding

1.   The Pericles IV programme shall be implemented under direct management in accordance with the Financial Regulation.

2.   The Pericles IV programme shall be implemented by the Commission in cooperation with the Member States, through regular consultations at different stages of the implementation of the Pericles IV programme, whilst ensuring consistency and avoiding unnecessary duplication with relevant measures undertaken by other competent entities, in particular the ECB and Europol. To that effect, when preparing the work programmes pursuant to Article 10, the Commission shall take into account existing and planned ECB activities and Europol activities against euro counterfeiting and related fraud.

3.   Financial support under the Pericles IV programme for eligible actions listed in Article 6 shall take the form of either grants or public procurement.

Article 5 Joint actions

1.   Actions under the Pericles IV programme may be organised jointly by the Commission and other partners having relevant expertise, such as:

(a)

the national central banks and the ECB;

(b)

the National Analysis Centres and the Coin National Analysis Centres;

(c)

the European Technical and Scientific Centre and the mints;

(d)

Europol, Eurojust and Interpol;

(e)

the national central anti-counterfeiting offices provided for in Article 12 of the International Convention for the Suppression of Counterfeiting Currency signed at Geneva on 20 April 1929  ( 21 ) and other agencies specialising in prevention, detection and law-enforcement in connection with counterfeiting;

(f)

specialist bodies concerned in the field of duplication and certification technologies, printers and engravers;

(g)

bodies other than those referred to in points (a) to (f) offering specific expertise, including, where appropriate, such bodies from third countries and in particular from acceding States and candidate countries; and

(h)

private entities that have developed and provided evidence of technical knowledge and teams specialising in detecting counterfeit banknotes and coins.

2.   Where eligible actions are organised jointly by the Commission and the ECB, Eurojust, Europol or Interpol, the ensuing expenses shall be divided among them. In any event, each of them shall bear the travel and accommodation costs of its own guest speakers.

Article 6 Eligible actions

1.   The Pericles IV programme shall provide, under the conditions set out in the annual work programmes referred to in Article 10, financial support for the following actions:

(a)

exchange and dissemination of information, in particular through organising workshops, meetings and seminars, including training, targeted placements and exchanges of staff of competent national authorities and other similar actions. The exchange of information shall, among others, be targeted at:

—

best practices in preventing counterfeiting and fraud relating to the euro,

—

methodologies for monitoring and analysing the economic and financial impact of counterfeiting,

—

operation of databases and early warning systems,

—

use of detection tools, including with computer back-up,

—

enquiry and investigation methods,

—

scientific assistance, including monitoring of new developments,

—

protection of the euro outside the Union,

—

research actions,

—

provision of specific operational expertise;

(b)

technical, scientific and operational assistance, as appears necessary as part of the Pericles IV programme, including in particular:

—

any appropriate measure which establishes teaching resources at Union level, such as a handbook of Union legislation, information bulletins, practical manuals, glossaries and lexicons, databases, especially in the area of scientific assistance or technology watch, or computer support applications, such as software,

—

relevant studies with a multidisciplinary and transnational dimension, including research on innovative security features,

—

development of technical support instruments and methods to facilitate detection actions at Union level,

—

support for cooperation in operations involving at least two countries when such support cannot be made available from other programmes of Union institutions and bodies;

(c)

the purchase of equipment to be used by specialised anti-counterfeiting authorities of third countries for protecting the euro against counterfeiting, in compliance with Article 7(2).

2.   The Pericles IV programme shall take into account the transnational and multidisciplinary aspects of the fight against counterfeiting by targeting the participation of the following groups:

(a)

staff of agencies engaged in detecting and combating counterfeiting, in particular police forces, customs and financial administrations, depending on their specific functions at national level;

(b)

intelligence personnel;

(c)

representatives of the national central banks, the mints, commercial banks and other financial intermediaries, in particular as regards the obligations of financial institutions;

(d)

judicial officers, specialist lawyers and members of the judiciary in this field;

(e)

any other group of specialists concerned, such as chambers of commerce and industry or comparable structures capable of providing access to small and medium-sized enterprises, retailers and cash-in-transit companies.

3.   The groups referred to in paragraph 2 may include participants from third countries.

Article 7 Grants

1.   Grants under the Pericles IV programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title VIII of the Financial Regulation.

2.   For actions implemented through grants, the purchase of equipment shall not be the sole component of the grant agreement.

Article 8 Co-financing rates

The co-financing rate for grants awarded under the Pericles IV programme shall not exceed 75 % of the eligible costs. In exceptional and duly justified cases, defined in the annual work programmes referred to in Article 10, the co-financing rate shall not exceed 90 % of the eligible costs.

Article 9 Eligible entities

Entities eligible for funding under the Pericles IV programme shall be the competent national authorities as defined in point (b) of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001.

Article 10 Work programmes

1.   In order to implement the Pericles IV programme, the Commission shall adopt work programmes as referred to in Article 110 of the Financial Regulation.

2.   For grants, in addition to the requirements laid down in Article 110 of the Financial Regulation, the work programme shall specify the essential selection and award criteria and the maximum possible rate of co-financing.

Article 11 Exercise of delegation

1.   The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2.   The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 12(2) shall be conferred on the Commission from 1 January 2021 until 31 December 2027.

3.   The delegation of power referred to in Article 12(2), may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4.   Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5.   As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6.   A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 12(2) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of three months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and to the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by three months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 12 Monitoring

1.   Indicators to report on progress of the Pericles IV programme towards the achievement of the specific objective laid down in Article 2 are set out in the Annex.

2.   To ensure the effective assessment of progress of the Pericles IV programme towards the achievement of its objectives, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 11, to amend the Annex with regard to the indicators where considered necessary for the purposes of evaluation, as well as to supplement this Regulation with provisions on the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework.

3.   The Commission shall provide annual information on the results of the Pericles IV programme to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the ECB, taking into account the quantitative and qualitative indicators set out in the Annex.

4.   The participating countries and other beneficiaries shall provide the Commission with all the data and information necessary to permit the monitoring and evaluation of the Pericles IV programme.

Article 13 Evaluation

1.   An independent mid-term evaluation of the Pericles IV programme shall be carried out once there is sufficient information available about the implementation of the Pericles IV programme, but no later than four years after the start of the programme implementation.

2.   At the end of the implementation of the Pericles IV programme, but no later than two years after the end of the period specified in Article 1, a final evaluation of the Pericles IV programme shall be carried out by the Commission.

3.   The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of the evaluations accompanied by its observations, to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the ECB.

Article 14 Information, communication and visibility

1.   The recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin of those funds and ensure the visibility of the Union funding, in particular when promoting the actions and their results, by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including the media and the public.

2.   The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating to the Pericles IV programme, and to actions taken pursuant to the Pericles IV programme and to the results obtained.

3.   Financial resources allocated to the Pericles IV programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, insofar as these priorities are related to the objectives referred to in Article 2.

Article 15 Repeal

Regulation (EU) No 331/2014 is repealed with effect from 1 January 2021.

Article 16 Transitional provisions

1.   This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification of actions initiated pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 331/2014, which shall continue to apply to these actions until their closure.

2.   The financial envelope for the Pericles IV programme may also cover the technical and administrative assistance expenses necessary to ensure the transition between the Pericles IV programme and the measures adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 331/2014.

Article 17 Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

It shall apply from 1 January 2021.

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX INDICATORS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE PERICLES IV PROGRAMME

ANNEX

INDICATORS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE PERICLES IV PROGRAMME

The Pericles IV programme will be monitored closely on the basis of a set of indicators intended to measure, at minimal administrative burdens and costs, the extent to which the general and specific objectives of the Pericles IV programme have been achieved. To that end, data will be collected as regards the following set of key indicators:

(a)

the number of counterfeit euros detected;

(b)

the number of illegal workshops dismantled;

(c)

the number of competent authorities applying to the Pericles IV programme;

(d)

the satisfaction rate of participants in the actions financed by the Pericles IV programme; and

(e)

the feedback of participants that have already taken part in previous Pericles actions on the impact of the Pericles IV programme on their activities in protecting the euro against counterfeiting.

The data and information for the key performance indicators shall be collected annually by the Commission and the beneficiaries of the Pericles IV programme, as follows:

—

the Commission shall collect the data for the number of counterfeit euro coins and banknotes;

—

the Commission shall collect the data for the number of illegal workshops dismantled;

—

the Commission shall collect the data for the number of competent authorities applying to the Pericles IV programme;

—

the Commission and the beneficiaries of the Pericles IV programme shall collect the data for the satisfaction rate of participants in the actions financed by the Pericles IV programme;

—

the Commission and the beneficiaries of the Pericles IV programme shall collect the data for the feedback of participants that have already taken part in previous Pericles actions on the impact of the Pericles IV programme on their activities in protecting the euro against counterfeiting.