The European Union is a group of 27 countries throughout Europe that have combined to form a union based on political and economical compatibility and fusion. In the interest of brevity and efficiency, many of the countries can be easily abbreviated into just two letters. These official EU abbreviations are used in a number of places, including government documentation.
EU Countries
The most common place where you will encounter abbreviations in the European Union (EU) is with the names of the countries themselves.
- AT - Austria
- BE - Belgium
- BG - Bulgaria
- CY - Cyprus
- CZ - Czechia
- DE - Germany
- DK - Denmark
- EE - Estonia
- ES - Spain
- FI - Finland
- FR - France
- GR - Greece
- HR - Croatia
- HU - Hungary
- IE - Ireland
- IT - Italy
- LT - Lithuania
- LU - Luxembourg
- LV - Latvia
- MT - Malta
- NL - Netherlands
- PO - Poland
- PT - Portugal
- RO - Romania
- SE - Sweden
- SI - Slovenia
- SK - Slovakia
Non-EU Countries in Europe
There are 25 other countries, states and territories that are in Europe but aren't part of the EU. Find their abbreviations in our List of Europe Country Codes.
EU Currencies
While you may assume that the Euro (EUR) is the only currency used through the European Union, that's not the case. Some EU countries kept their own currency. In addition to the modern EU currencies listed below, countries within the European Union had previously used their own local currencies, such as the Austrian schilling (ATS), the Estonian kroon (EEK), the Italian lira (ITL), the German mark (DEM), and the French franc (FRF).
- BGN - Bulgarian lev
- CZK - Czech koruna
- DKK - Danish krone
- EUR - Euro
- HRK - Croatian kuna
- HUF - Hungarian forint
- PLN - Polish zloty
- RON - Romanian leu
- SEK - Swedish krona
European Union Language Abbreviations
Since several countries make up the European Union, it makes sense that each one has its own language abbreviation too. Check out how the 24 official languages of the EU are abbreviated.
- BG - Bulgarian
- CS - Czech
- DA - Danish
- DE - German
- EL - Greek
- EN - English
- ES - Spanish
- ET - Estonian
- FI - Finnish
- FR - French
- GA - Irish
- HR - Croatian
- HU - Hungarian
- IT - Italian
- LT - Lithuanian
- LV - Latvian
- MT - Maltese
- NL - Dutch
- PL - Polish
- PT - Portuguese
- RO - Romanian
- SK - Slovak
- SL - Slovenian
- SV - Swedish
EU Organizations and Programs
In addition to abbreviating the names of European countries, the EU also features a number of abbreviated forms of official organizations and programs.
- BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation
- CAP - Common Agricultural Policy
- CEPS - Centre for European Policy Studies
- CJEU - Court of Justice of the European Union
- COE - College of Europe
- COPA - Committee of Professional Agriculture Organisations
- CoR - European Committee of the Regions
- COSAC - Conference of Community and European Affairs Committee
- EBF - European Banking Federation
- EBU-UER - European Broadcasting Union
- ECA - European Court of Auditors
- ECF - European Cultural Foundation
- ECFIN - Economic and Financial Affairs
- ECU - European Currency Unit
- EDPS - European Data Protection Supervisor
- EDPB - European Data Protection Board
- EEAS - European External Action Service
- EEB - European Environmental Bureau
- EESC - European Economic and Social Committee
- EIB - European Investment Bank
- EFC - Economic and Financial Committee
- EFTA - European Free Trade Association
- EMS - European Monetary System
- EPC - Economic Policy Committee
- EU- European Union
- ERUATEX - The European Apparel and Textile Confederation
- EUROSTAT - Statistical Office of the European Union
- GATT - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
- IEEP - Institute for European Environmental Policy
- IPT - Industry and Parliament Trust
- JRC - Joint Research Centre
- NAA - North Atlantic Assembly
- OCT - Overseas Countries and Territories
- OECD - Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
- OJ - Official Journal of the European Union
European Union Abbreviations
The European Union is a large organization that covers lots of countries. Having abbreviations makes paperwork easier and adds clarity. For the most part, the abbreviations are very well known, making it easy for everyone to know which country, organization, office or program is being referred to without much of an issue.
Interested to know more abbreviations? See all 50 US state abbreviations or check out the world of computer abbreviations!