European Union

English
Member states of the European Union (in green)

Etymology

Formed as European + Union, in the sense of the resistance group, after the German Europäische Union.

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌjʊəɹəˈpiːən ˈjuːnjən/, /ˌjɔːɹəˈpiːən ˈjuːnjən/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˌjʊɹəˈpiən ˈjunjən/, /ˌjɝɹəˈpi.ən ˈjunjən/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Audio(file)

Proper noun

the European Union

  1. A supranational organisation, consisting of 27 member states, created in the 1950s to bring the nations of Europe into closer economic and political connection.
    • 1992, Maastricht Treaty:
      ...IN VIEW of further steps to be taken in order to advance European integration,
      HAVE DECIDED to establish a European Union and to this end have designated as their plenipotentiaries...
    • 1996, John Major, EU Beef Ban and the Florence European Council:
      The issue will now be dealt with on a proper, rational basis, with the timetable for the lifting of the ban dependent on our own efforts. That has enabled the restoration of normal business in the European Union.
    • 2022 June 17, “Greeted as a 'great friend', Johnson meets Zelensky on second Ukraine trip”, in France 24‎, archived from the original on 18 June 2022:
      7:09pm: Putin says he has 'nothing against' Ukraine joining EU
      Russia has "nothing against" Ukraine's possible membership of the European Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday after the European Commission recommended granting Kyiv candidate status of the 27-member bloc.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:European Union.
  2. (historical) An antifascist resistance group active during Germany’s Nazi era.

Synonyms
  • (European supranational organisation): EU (initialism), EUSSR (derogatory)

Meronyms

Translations

Further reading
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.