Protection of the euro against counterfeiting

The Pericles IV programme, particularly the PERI-2025-ANTI-COUNTERFEIT call, is designed to prevent counterfeiting of euro banknotes and coins, thus protecting their integrity and maintaining public trust in the euro. The programme supports competent national authorities, as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001, in fostering cooperation and exchanging best practices among EU Member States and third countries.

The funding type is primarily through PERI Project Grants, with a total budget of 600,000 EUR allocated for 2025. The application process uses a multiple cut-off system, permitting submissions on specific dates: February 20, 2025, April 23, 2025, and September 16, 2025. Applicants are invited to submit proposals that adhere to outlined admissibility conditions and formats specified in the call documents.

Eligible applicants include national law enforcement agencies, judicial authorities, central banks, commercial banks, cash-in-transit companies, and possibly NGOs involved in anti-counterfeiting efforts. Although single applicants can apply, collaboration between multiple countries is encouraged for enhanced project impact.

The funding is intended for projects focusing on operational measures such as training initiatives, seminars, workshops, equipment procurement, and staff exchanges. Individual grants generally range from 50,000 to 200,000 EUR. Applicants are required to co-finance at least 10% of their project costs.

The application process involves several evaluation stages, including administrative eligibility checks and assessment based on relevance, impact, and cost-effectiveness against the objectives outlined in the call guidelines. While specific success rates are not mentioned, the funding is competitive, prioritizing projects that demonstrate significant cross-border effects.

Additional resources and documentation, including detailed application forms, guidelines, and support for technical inquiries, are available on the Funding and Tenders Portal. The involvement of international organizations and third countries is also encouraged, reflecting the programme's broader aim of strengthening the EU's security against counterfeiting activities.

The Pericles IV programme, under the call PERI-2025-ANTI-COUNTERFEIT, aims to prevent and combat counterfeiting and related fraud, preserving the integrity of the euro banknotes and coins. This initiative seeks to strengthen the trust of citizens and businesses in the genuineness of euro banknotes and coins, enhancing trust in the Union's economy and securing the sustainability of public finances. The specific objective is to protect euro banknotes and coins against counterfeiting and related fraud by supporting and supplementing measures undertaken by Member States. It also assists competent national and Union authorities in developing close cooperation and exchanging best practices among themselves and with the Commission, including third countries and international organizations where appropriate.

The call for proposals is for PERI Project Grants (PERI-PJG) with a budget of 600,000 EUR for the year 2025. The deadline model is multiple cut-off. The opening date for submissions is 20 February 2025, with deadline dates on 23 April 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time and 16 September 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

Admissibility conditions include compliance with the proposal page limit and layout as described in sections 5 and 6 of the call document. The proposal layout should follow Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

Entities eligible for funding are the competent national authorities as defined in point (b) of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001, as described in section 6 of the call document.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion conditions are not applicable (n/a).

Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, threshold, and process are detailed in sections 8-10 of the call document. The legal and financial set-up of the grants is described in section 10 of the call document.

The call document and annexes include the call document itself, application form templates (Standard application form (PERI) available in the Submission System, Detailed budget table (PERI), Draft agenda/outline (PERI)), Model Grant Agreements (MGA) (PERI MGA), PERICLES IV Annual Work Programmes, PERI Regulation 2021/840, PERI Non-Euro Area Regulation 2021/1696 extending to non-participating Member States, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

There are 15 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics.

To start the submission process, applicants should access the Electronic Submission Service via the submission button, selecting the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement. Existing draft proposals can be accessed by logging into the Funding & Tenders Portal and selecting the My Proposals page.

For help, applicants can contact ECFIN-PERICLES@ec.europa.eu. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, IT Helpdesk for technical issues, and the Online Manual for a step-by-step guide.

Several topic Q&As are available, addressing questions related to budget calculations for subsistence costs, criteria for calculating subsistence costs, the need for participants to fill out questionnaires, submission of invoices with the final financial report, VAT eligibility, rules for EU institution staff participation, travel class allowances, calculation of the number of months for employees, financial contributions from participants, calculation of subsistence costs days, supporting documents for travel costs, depreciation rules for equipment, rules for purchasing equipment for non-EU countries, proof of event attendance, visibility and funding statement information, and exchange rate rules.

In summary, this EU funding opportunity under the Pericles IV programme aims to combat euro counterfeiting by providing grants to competent national authorities for projects that support cooperation, exchange of best practices, and the protection of the euro. The call specifies eligibility criteria, application procedures, and provides extensive documentation and support resources to guide applicants through the process. The program seeks to maintain the integrity of the euro and strengthen public trust in the EU economy.

Eligible Applicant Types: The entities eligible for funding are the competent national authorities as defined in point (b) of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically PERI Project Grants (PERI-PJG) and PERI Action Grant Budget-Based [PERI-AG].

Consortium Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required or if a single applicant is sufficient. However, the presence of a partner search announcement suggests that collaboration is possible and perhaps encouraged, but not necessarily mandatory.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The program supports measures undertaken by the Member States and assists the competent national and Union authorities, where appropriate including third countries and international organisations. This suggests that the geographic eligibility includes EU Member States, and potentially extends to EU third countries and international organisations.

Target Sector: The target sector is the protection of the euro against counterfeiting and related fraud, which falls under the broader category of finance and security.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the opportunity is open to EU Member States and potentially includes third countries.

Project Stage: The project stage is not explicitly mentioned, but given the focus on combating counterfeiting and fraud, it is likely to support projects in the development, validation, and implementation stages.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic PERI-2025-ANTI-COUNTERFEIT is EUR 600,000. The indicative number of grants is not specified, so the funding amount per project is variable.

Application Type: The application type is an open call for submission with multiple cut-off dates.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants.

Application Stages: The application process involves multiple stages, including admissibility checks, eligibility checks, evaluation based on award criteria, and legal and financial set-up of the grant. The exact number of stages is not explicitly stated but can be inferred from the conditions and evaluation process described in the call document.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

The PERI-2025-ANTI-COUNTERFEIT call, under the Programme for the Protection of the Euro against Counterfeiting (PERICLES IV), aims to prevent and combat counterfeiting and related fraud to preserve the integrity of the euro banknotes and coins. The call is open to competent national authorities as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001. The funding mechanism is through PERI Project Grants (PERI-PJG) and PERI Action Grant Budget-Based [PERI-AG]. While not explicitly stated, collaboration is encouraged. The geographic scope includes EU Member States and potentially extends to EU third countries and international organisations. The call targets projects in the finance and security sector, specifically those focused on protecting the euro against counterfeiting. The total budget for the topic is EUR 600,000. The application process is an open call with multiple cut-off dates: February 20, 2025, April 23, 2025, and September 16, 2025. Beneficiaries will receive monetary grants. The application process involves several stages, including admissibility, eligibility, evaluation, and legal and financial set-up. Applicants should consult the call document and annexes for detailed information on proposal preparation, evaluation criteria, and the grant agreement. The Funding & Tenders Portal provides access to the Electronic Submission Service, FAQs, and an online manual for guidance.