the European Union wants to modernize its tools to fight against traffickers

The European Commission published its annual report this week: counterfeiting remains a scourge in Europe, with 86 million items seized in 2022.

Clothing, games, toys, cigarettes… 86 million counterfeit items were seized in 2022 in Europe. This is a figure down slightly compared to 2021, but in terms of financial value the goods intercepted by customs last year represent more money: more than two billion euros of goods.

For ten years, the illicit trade in counterfeit products has profoundly affected our economies. It represents around 5% of the EU’s total turnover, according to this report. What are most often seized are games and toys, clothing, bags and sports shoes; but also cigarettes and products that we thought had disappeared: CDs and DVDs. Even more surprising: packaging, labels or stickers.

Manufacturers enter the fake products and their packaging separately into the single market, and then assemble them on European soil, in order to circumvent controls. In recent years, it is mainly via the Post Office and delivery companies that these counterfeits have penetrated our market, via purchases on the internet. Border seizures are down sharply.

Italy tops the list of countries most affected

More than 60% of seizures in 2022 took place in Italy, without knowing whether customs there are more efficient or if it is a real gateway to counterfeiting. Next in order come France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Germany… Only nine other Member States share the rest of the seizures, there are almost none in Luxembourg, Estonia or Finland.

No surprises on the origin of counterfeit products: mainly from China, followed by Turkey, which particularly exports a lot of counterfeit branded clothing. Cell phones often arrive from Hong Kong. In a few years, we have gone from very often artisanal activities to real, very organized crime.

The reform of the Customs Union, presented in May 2023 by the Commission, should make it possible to fight this scourge more effectively. In particular, it provides for a modernization of procedures, with the creation of a single digital interface to simplify administrative procedures for importers. But this future system must also make it possible, thanks to artificial intelligence, to better control the origin of goods.