The real price of fake products

Too good to be true?

The real price of fake products

Financially, EU citizens have a lot to lose from fakes. It is also an ethical issue. A major beneficiary of this illegal business is organised crime. World-wide, organised crime is heavily involved in distributing fake goods: for them it’s a real growth opportunity.

These goods can pose serious risks to safety and health. Why would crooks care about your safety? Citizens lose as consumers. What looks like a bargain often turns out to be a waste of money, as fake products are essentially not made to the same quality standards.

We all lose as taxpayers. Illegal operators and traders don’t pay taxes, so you pay more to make up for the loss. Dealers in imitations harm the European economy as they damage legitimate business and starve innovation.

Fake goods compete unfairly with genuine industrial products, putting many jobs at risk in Europe. Against this menace, there is only one thing to do.

Say no to fake goods! Go for the original!

On 27 January 2014, in Rome, the European Commission Vice-President Tajani and the President of the Italian Senate, Pietro Grasso took the floor together with high representatives from Institutions, industry, traders and consumers associations and national authorities involved in the fight against fake goods.

During the conference, representatives from different Member States gave evidence of their efforts to fight counterfeiting, as well as of the impact of the European Commission "Stop fakes" awareness campaign in their country.

Watch the video of the conference!

Session 1: Fighting counterfeiting and reviving the economy

Pietro GRASSO, President of the Italian Senate of Italy
Antonio TAJANI, Vice-President of the European Commission
Saverio CAPOLUPO, Commanding General of Guardia di Finanza
Giuseppe PELEGGI, Director General of Italian Customs and Monopoly Agency

Lisa FERRARINI, President of the Technical Committee for "Made in" and Anti – Counterfeiting;
Philippe COEN, Vice President of Unifab (Union des fabricants)
Nobert DRUDE, President of the German Customs Investigation Bureau
Reneta NIKOLOVA, President of the Bulgarian Association of Journalists Against Corruption

Programme of the conference pdf - 30 KB [30 KB] and the conference poster pdf - 3 MB [3 MB] .