The European Union will end a controversial anti-smuggling pact with Philip Morris International under which PMI paid about EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1 billion) to the EU and member states over the past dozen years, according to the website EUobserver.

PMI had agreed to better monitor illicit cigarettes and pay the EU contributions to settle complaints by Brussels that the cigarette maker was not doing enough to stop the flow of untaxed goods, the website said. The EU has been criticized for working with tobacco companies.
Termination could set a precedent for similar arrangements with British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Brands, the website said.