In a joint response to a parliamentary question published on Wednesday, justice minister Sam Tanson (déi Gréng) and finance minister Pierre Gramegna (DP) wrote that 982 counterfeit notes were taken out of circulation in 2018, compared with 1,131 in 2017. The downward trend appears to have continued in 2019 when from 1 January to 30 June, 249 fake notes were detected, down from 531 during the same period in 2018.

The €50-note is the most commonly seized counterfeit, accounting for 60% of fakes, followed by €20 notes, which make up 21% of fakes, the ministers explained. Some 86% of fakes are detected by banks, and 11% by shop staff and members of the public.

2019 marks the twentieth anniversary of the euro note. According to the European Central Bank, across the eurozone, some 251,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were removed from circulation during the first half of 2019, a decrease of 4.2% compared with the same period in 2018. Over 80% of counterfeits were €20 and €50 banknotes.