Over 70 000 counterfeit goods
were seized during a major Joint Customs Operation (JCO) code-named
“ERMIS”. The Operation focussed on postal and courier mail traffic, to
identify fake products shipped through small consignments. JCO ERMIS was
carried-out by the Greek Customs Administration and the European
Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and also involved customs experts from the
Commission, Member States, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The
results of this operation were unveiled at a debriefing meeting in
Athens and are published across Europe today.
Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner responsible for Customs and Anti-Fraud, said: "The
ERMIS Operation shows, once again, the major added-value of working
together to combat common risks. Counterfeit products put our consumers
at risk and our businesses at a disadvantage. Strong cooperation,
efficient information exchange and effective targeted actions, involving
all enforcement authorities, is essential to tackle those who smuggle
fakes. This Operation did just that, and the outcome shows the great
results this yields."
JCO ERMIS was carried out in
March 2014. Customs authorities performed intensified controls and
exchange of intelligence on parcels coming into the EU from third
countries, via mail. Within the course of the operation, over 70 000
counterfeit items were seized in 634 different seizures. The goods
varied in nature from mobile phones, sunglasses, and small vehicle spare
parts, to medicines and pharmaceutical products. Most goods were found
to come from the Far East. Such counterfeit products can pose a risk to
EU consumers, since they tend not to be produced in line with the
relevant health and safety legislation. Moreover, counterfeit trade
undermines legitimate businesses. An additional number of 210 seizures
were made, but the goods were released by customs officials because of
the lack of cooperation from rights-holders, who did not come to
identify the goods and certify they were counterfeit. The participants
to the operation recalled that the cooperation of private companies is
essential to the success of such customs operations since only the
rights-holders can certify that the goods seized are not authentic.
JCO ERMIS follows up on previous
actions coordinated by OLAF (JCO FAKE, JCO SIROCCO and JCOs DIABOLO I
and DIABOLO II) which aim to curb the smuggling of counterfeit goods.
Such Joint Customs Operations help generate increased intelligence,
stronger cross-border cooperation and more accurate targeting of
smuggling risk areas. Furthermore, through the high number of seizures,
the Joint Customs Operation once again helped avoid losses to the EU’s
and Member States’ budgets in the form of evaded customs duties and
taxes.
Background...
The mission of the European
Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is threefold: it protects the financial
interests of the European Union by investigating fraud, corruption and
any other illegal activities; it detects and investigates serious
matters relating to the discharge of professional duties by members and
staff of the EU institutions and bodies that could result in
disciplinary or criminal proceedings; and it supports the EU
institutions, in particular the European Commission, in the development
and implementation of anti-fraud legislation and policies.