The European Commission defeated three tobacco companies in a top European court today, turning back an attempt to derail its smuggling and money laundering charges against them.
Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds and Japan Tobacco had challenged the Commission's right to bring legal action in the US.
"These cigarette manufacturers cannot prevent the (European) Community from continuing the legal proceedings brought by it before the Courts in the United States," the Court of First Instance said in a statement.
If the tobacco companies had won they would have seriously constrained the power of the EU to take companies to court in the US. The ruling ordered the firms to pay the Commission's costs.
The firms have the right to appeal to the highest EU court, the European Court of Justice, within two months.
The Commission has brought three cases against the firms in a US court since 2000. All three failed, but it has appealed, saying the firms' involvement in smuggling cost the EU hundreds of millions of euro in lost customs and tax revenue every year.
In October it also launched a separate civil action for money laundering against R.J. Reynolds, and refused to rule out launching similar cases against other companies in future.
The Commission has also pursued a campaign against smoking in the EU, where more than half a million people die of tobacco-related diseases each year.