Guardian Unlimited reports that the European Commission signed an agreement with Japan Tobacco International (JTI) last Friday in an attempt to fight cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting that reputedly costs the EU 6 billion euros ($8.72 billion) a year in lost taxes. JTI will give a reported US$400 million to the European Union executive and 26 of the bloc's 27 member countries over the next 15 years to help pay for cracking down on illegal trading in cigarettes brought into the EU by ship, lorry, train, post and on foot. JTI, which makes Silk Cut, Winston and Camel cigarettes, has also agreed to pay the tax and duty on any of its genuine cigarettes seized for being sold through illegal outlets.