You're reading: The Financial: Negotiations about tobacco duties between the EU and Russia

Talks will be probably started between The EU and Russia on tobacco duties in an effort to fight smuggling, which cost the bloc 10 bilion euros a year. The other eastern neighbours will involve in these discussions, a top official said Thursday. One of the instruments is negotiations with countries on the other side of the border regarding the gradual moving of their excise policy closer to EU policy," Algirdas Semeta, the 27-nation EU's tax and customs chief, told reporters. As The web-site, EU-Business says, on a visit to his native Lithuania, an EU country bordering non-members Belarus and Russia, Semeta said differences in excise duties encourage smuggling. Read the story here