| Series Title | European Voice |
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| Series Details | Vol.11, No.40, 10.11.05 |
| Publication Date | 10/11/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 10/11/05 More than two million counterfeit goods were intercepted as part of an operation co-ordinated by the European Commission's anti-fraud office OLAF, it was announced this week. Forgeries of patented goods detected by customs authorities participating in Operation FAKE included mobile phones, handbags, batteries, cameras, CD-players, medicines, cigarettes and a wide variety of garments. Some of the largest seizures during the operation - conducted in May - were in Thessaloniki in Greece, Antwerp in Belgium and in Italy's Gioia Tauro. Piracy and contraband issues are to dominate discussions which Laszlo Kovacs, the European commissioner for taxation and the customs union, will have with the Chinese authorities when he visits Beijing and Hong Kong next week. Citing estimates that 70% of fake goods imported into the EU originate in China, Kovacs noted that Beijing has made a commitment to introduce more effective legislation against counterfeiting under the customs co-operation agreement that it signed with the Union earlier this year. During his trip, Kovacs will also be asking that Hong Kong signs a similar accord. Siim Kallas, the anti-fraud commissioner, said that counterfeiting had become "quite large and sophisticated" in recent years. "It can seriously undermine the efforts of the European economy to create more jobs and to have more revenues from foreign trade," he added. According to the Commission, there was a ten-fold increase in the number of counterfeit goods detected by customs officials in the EU in 1998-2004. Article reports on an operation co-ordinated by the European Commission's anti-fraud office OLAF, in the course of which more than two million counterfeit goods were intercepted across the European Union. The operational phase of 'Operation FAKE' took place from 17-27 May 2005 within OLAF’s permanent technical infrastructure and ended with a debriefing of all participants on 8 November, in Rome. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs, Internal Markets, Justice and Home Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
