The European Commission will sign a 15-year deal with Japan Tobacco International, the world's third-largest cigarette maker, to fight cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting, it said.

Officials from JT International (JTI), which has committed some $400 million over the period, would sign the agreement later on today in Brussels, the EU executive said.

JT International is an operating division of Japan Tobacco Inc., handling the international production, marketing and sales of the group's cigarette brands.

Japan Tobacco is 50-percent owned by the Japanese government and makes Mild Seven cigarettes. It also owns the Camel, Winston and Salem brands outside the United States.

Through the agreement, JTI will work with the Commission itself, its anti-fraud office OLAF, and law enforcement authorities of EU member countries to help in the fight against contraband, including the problem of counterfeit cigarettes.