The Hungarian customs authority is leading its peers among new EU member states in cracking down on pirated goods, the (Hungarian-nominated) EU commissioner for taxes and customs said on Monday. According to privatbankar.hu, László Kovács claims that, measured by the number of seizures of pirated goods, Hungary came in behind only France, Germany and Holland, despite having a border with non-EU countries.
Overall, almost 80 million items were seized last year in the EU in over 43,000 raids, compared to 128 million items impounded in 37,000 sweeps the year previously. Kovács said the difference comes down to the increasing use of the Internet by consumers of pirate goods, and the breaking down of smuggled shipments into smaller lots by traffickers.