The European Commission has published its latest report, EU Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights: Results at the EU Border and in the EU Internal Market.
The report shows a total number of 112 million detained counterfeit items worth an estimated EUR 3.8 billion across the European Union last year. The total number of detained items was lower than the record set in 2023. However, the estimated value of detentions reached its highest recorded level, probably due to the shift toward higher-value counterfeit products.
In the internal market, EU enforcement authorities detained over 98 million articles worth EUR 2.4 billion in 2024, almost 50 per cent more than in 2022, though below the peak reached in 2023. At the EU’s external borders, 19.7 million items were detained, marking a 12.25% increase compared to 2023, with an estimated value of EUR 1.5 billion, the highest in a decade.
Trademarks remained the most infringed intellectual property right in 2024, followed by copyrights and designs. The main product categories included clothing, toys, cosmetics, and e-cigarettes or cigarettes.
The top three countries of provenance in 2024 were China, Turkey, and, for the first time, the United Arab Emirates, primarily for body-care products. The appearance of the UAE among the top origin countries signals evolving supply chains and diversification in trafficking routes. Comparatively, in 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked immediately after China among the main sources of counterfeit goods. According to earlier European Commission data, North Macedonia was identified as the main source of counterfeit alcoholic beverages, accounting for over 60 per cent of all seized fake alcohol. Notably, the Western Balkan countries are no longer listed among the top sources in the 2024 data.
Ten EU Member States accounted for more than 85 per cent of the total volume and value of seized goods, with Croatia ranking fifth overall.
Sea cargo remains the primary mode of transport for seized items at both the EU borders and within the internal market. However, e-commerce continues to drive an increasing share of detentions.
In comparison, in the Western Balkans, authorities often publish periodic seizure data, though no unified methodology exists. In 2024, Serbia destroyed approximately 230,000 counterfeit items, mainly clothing and sneakers, and seized goods worth around EUR 170–200,000. Albania faces ongoing challenges with counterfeit clothing, which is also serving as a key transit route for counterfeit goods to the EU.
The full report is available here.
This article was prepared in collaboration with Nađa Marinković, a student of the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade.
The information in this document does not constitute legal advice on any particular matter and is provided for general informational purposes only.
