Ten members of the EU (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) have been involved in a lengthy legal battle with Phillip Morris in the US courts. The European commission has accused the tobacco giant of collusion in tobacco smuggling to EU destinations.

In order to bring legal proceedings on this issue to a close, Philip Morris today agreed to pay US$1.25bn to the EU and the 10 countries that pursued the case in court. Philip Morris has also had to agree to supply cigarettes to specific markets in volumes that are "commensurate with legitimate market demand".