The EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood Policies in Combatting Illicit Tobacco Trade

The EU’s membership enlargement in 2004 has generated narratives that problematise its new Eastern neighbourhood as part of the EU’s security threats. Included in such perceived threats is illicit tobacco trade, which is the focus of this chapter and edited volume. Within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU has devised a voluminous number of political, legal, and financial instruments, aiming to facilitate the improvement of customs and border management to combat illicit tobacco trade. One of the most iconic in this regard is the EU’s Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) established in 2005. EUBAM has provided legislative and administrative support to Moldova and Ukraine’s authorities and conducted joint operations in combatting illicit tobacco trade. By providing an overview of some of the instruments to tackle the perceived security threat, the chapter sheds light on a fundamental ambivalence underlying the EU’s approaches to its eastern neighbourhood, which may, in the long run, affect the effectiveness of the initiatives to combat illicit tobacco trade.