Press Release: Customs: Commission publishes 2007 Customs seizures of counterfeit goods at the EU’s external border

Statistics published by the European Commission relating to counterfeit and piracy showed a significant increase in customs activity last year. In 2007, customs registered over 43,000 cases of fake goods seized at the EU's external border, compared to 37,000 in 2006. This was due to improved cooperation between customs and industry, enabling customs to better target suspected shipments and to recognize counterfeit goods. Despite this, the number of articles seized decreased from last year's peak of 128 million articles to around 79 million. This was due to a growing number of seizures involving smaller quantities of counterfeit and pirated articles. However, cigarettes and clothing continued to be faked in large quantities and there has been a worrying increase in sectors that are potentially dangerous to consumers (medicines, electrical equipment, personal care products).

European Commission: MEMO/08/311: 2007 customs seizures of counterfeit goods – Frequently Asked Questions http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/310&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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