The EU’s actions were a “great help,” Philip Morris International said in an email.

When the world’s largest tobacco company needed help lifting international restrictions on its products, it enlisted an unlikely ally: the European Union, a leader in tobacco control.

EU officials met with Philip Morris International representatives at least six times from September 2022 through 2024, according to documents released through public records requests.

The tobacco giant’s agenda: Enlist EU officials’ help in loosening restrictions or setting favorable tax rates on its products — including IQOS, a heated tobacco device key to the company’s future — in 10 countries outside the EU.