Counterfeiting & fraud – Europol & European Central Bank agreement

SUMMARY OF:

Agreement between the European Police Office (Europol) and the European Central Bank (ECB)

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THIS AGREEMENT?

It provides rules for cooperation between the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Police Office (Europol) in the field of combating euro counterfeiting and extends this cooperation to:

• combating fraud in payment systems generally; and
• preventing the counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment.

KEY POINTS

Cooperation between the ECB and Europol

This cooperation covers:

• measures to prevent, identify and combat threats arising from illegal activities related to euro banknotes and coins, non-cash means of payment and the security of payments;
• assistance in these areas provided by both parties to national, European and international authorities.

Consultation and exchange of information

The ECB and Europol agree to:

• regularly consult with one another on these policies of common interest;
• provide each other regularly and promptly with information regarding counterfeiting of the euro;
• exchange on an ad hoc basis information in order to foster fraud prevention and the fight against the counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment, such as
  • reports and statistics,
  • information on major security incidents, risk and technology assessments, and
  • findings from their respective relevant activities);
• coordinate their policies, training activities, public information campaigns and publications on euro counterfeiting. In addition, Europol agrees to assist the ECB in its relationships with law enforcement organisations at national, EU or international level in matters relating to counterfeiting of the euro.

Counterfeiting monitoring system (CMS) database

• The ECB agrees to give read-only access to their CMS database to Europol officials in the context of combating euro counterfeiting. Europol officials are not allowed to directly introduce data into the database.
• The ECB agrees to keep Europol promptly informed of the creation of every new common type of counterfeit within the CMS and of the discovery of any large quantity of counterfeit euro banknotes.

FROM WHEN DOES THE AGREEMENT APPLY?

• It has applied since 3 December 2014.

BACKGROUND

The ECB and Europol have worked closely together since 2001 in the fight against counterfeiting of the euro. In 2014, by signing this agreement, the organisations agreed to extend this cooperation with regard to fraud in payment systems and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment.

For more information, see:

• ‘Anti-Counterfeiting’ (European Commission)
• ‘Anti-Counterfeiting’ (European Central Bank).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Agreement between the European Police Office (Europol) and the European Central Bank (ECB) (OJ C 123, 17.4.2015, pp. 1-5)

last update 14.11.2016