From 7 to 31 March 2022, the World Customs Organization (WCO) organized Operation “Balkan Gate 2” on combatting counterfeiting and pirated goods in the Balkans. It involved participation by 10 Customs administrations from the region, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Kosovo, Malta, North Macedonia and Romania, and enjoyed valuable support from the Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices for Western Europe (RILO WE), East and Central Europe (RILO ECE) and Europol.

An in-person workshop was held prior to the operation on how to differentiate between genuine and fake goods, together with training on risk assessment techniques with participation by 16 right holders. The workshop was made possible thanks to financial support from the Customs Cooperation Fund of Japan (CCF/Japan). During the operation, technical assistance from Europol facilitated post-seizure investigations. The Guardia di Finanza (Italy) also contributed to the smooth running of the operation.

The operation was aimed at mobilizing resources in participating Customs administrations with a view to conducting simultaneous inspections of consignments that could potentially contain certain types of counterfeit and/or pirated goods, and to offer a deeper insight into the flow of goods entering Europe via the Balkan region.

Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, WCO Secretary General, stated that “the rollout of intellectual property right (IPR) operations such as Balkan Gate 2 remains a valuable source of data collection for the WCO Secretariat, providing Members with a clearer picture of IPR infringements at both the regional and global levels.” He went on to say “I am very grateful to the 10 WCO Member administrations, the RILOs and our other partners for contributing to the success of Operation Balkan Gate 2 and for their tireless dedication, resulting in significant seizures.”

The operation culminated in the seizure of 2.3 million counterfeit pieces, broken down into 11 categories of counterfeit and pirated goods including:

• mobile phones and accessories, accounting for 41% of seizures;
• batteries, stickers and labels, accounting for 29% of seizures;
• clothing, accounting for 14% of seizures; and
• footwear, accounting for 12% of seizures.
• others, accounting for 4% of seizures.

In 98% of seizure cases the infringed right was a trademark. No less than 142 trademarks were concerned.

Thanks to the WCO’s “IPR CENcomm” secure communication platform, participating Members were able to exchange information on counterfeit and pirated goods detected and send alert messages about suspicious consignments in a timely manner during the operation. Through the platform, Members could also easily access and consult materials provided by right holders along with best practices shared by Member administrations, which are stored in an online library.

This operation has contributed to the efficient implementation of the WCO’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Strategy 2020, which was approved by the 41st Meeting of the Enforcement Committee in March 2021 and is aimed at providing an appropriate response to ongoing counterfeiting and piracy threats.

For more information about Operation Balkan Gate 2, please contact: iprteam@wcoomd.org