Criminal penalties for counterfeiting the euro

Since 2002, when euro notes and coins were introduced, numerous investigations have revealed the existence of illegal print shops and mints producing fakes, despite EU instruments to combat this. The Lisbon Treaty created new possibilities to fight counterfeiting of the euro through EU legislation. On this basis, the European Commission proposed, in February 2013, a Directive using criminal law to protect the euro and other currencies against counterfeiting.