Hermes European Study Centre: Simpler rules and stronger enforcement can end the black market

Hermes European Study Centre: Simpler rules and stronger enforcement can end the black market
Pairing stronger enforcement with simpler rules can strengthen European industry, restore fair competition and take away illegal sellers’ price advantage

BRUSSELS, 13 November 2026 – Europe’s black market will not be stopped at the border alone, the Hermes European Study Centre argues in a new policy paper published on 13 November.
The paper, Stopped at the Source: Ending the Black Market Through EU Competitiveness, calls for a more competitive European economy to cut off illegal sellers at the source. Lower compliance costs and coordinated enforcement, it finds, would remove the price advantage that counterfeiters and smugglers rely on.
In 2025, EU authorities intercepted a record 196 million counterfeit items worth €6.3 billion, a 67% increase on 2024, according to a joint report by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Commission.
“Illegal and counterfeit goods flood the EU single market every day,” said Giovanni Kessler, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of Hermes and former Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). “Greater investment in enforcement is needed to prevent illegal operators from undercutting legitimate businesses.”
Kessler previously led Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM). He is a respected expert on fraud, smuggling and the protection of the EU’s financial interests.
Europe’s black market spans many sectors, from fake Murano glass and counterfeit Italian fashion to fake cosmetics and unsafe illegal vapes.
In Venice, for example, industry groups estimate that up to 70% of glassware sold as Murano glass is fake.
In each case, the paper finds the same pattern: complex rules weigh on those who comply, while those who ignore them gain the advantage. Complex rules also hold back Europe’s competitiveness more broadly. In the digital economy, heavy compliance costs have made it harder for European tech start-ups to attract investment and compete with global rivals. Where Europe has simplified, competition and growth have followed.
Clear Recommendations
The paper builds on the “One Europe, One Market” roadmap. It sets out a New Competitiveness Agenda that calls on the EU to:
1. Simplify existing rules by reviewing current legislation, removing overlapping requirements and cutting unnecessary administrative burdens before adding new ones.
2. Strengthen and coordinate enforcement across Member States, so that illegal goods cannot slip into the Single Market through its weakest entry points.
3. Judge regulation by real-world outcomes, including its effect on prices, competitiveness and illegal activity, rather than by the number of rules adopted.
Europe does not have to choose between fighting the black market and staying competitive. The paper’s message is clear: the strongest defence against the black market is a competitive European economy that gives legitimate businesses room to grow and flourish.
The full paper, Stopped at the Source: Ending the Black Market Through EU Competitiveness, is available here.
Hermes is a prominent, independent, private, non-profit Centre for European Studies.