7.1. Countries
7.1.1. Designations and abbreviations to use
(See also Annexes A5 and A6)
Member States
The names of the Member States of the European Union must always be written and abbreviated according to the following rules:
Short name, source language(s) (geographical name) (1) | Official name, source language(s) (protocol name) | Short name in English (geographical name) | Official name in English (protocol name) | Country code (2) | Former abbreviation (2) |
Belgique/België | Royaume de Belgique/ Koninkrijk België |
Belgium | Kingdom of Belgium | BE | B |
България (*) | Република България | Bulgaria | Republic of Bulgaria | BG | — |
Česká republika | Česká republika | Czech Republic | Czech Republic | CZ | — |
Danmark | Kongeriget Danmark | Denmark | Kingdom of Denmark | DK | DK |
Deutschland | Bundesrepublik Deutschland | Germany | Federal Republic of Germany | DE | D |
Eesti | Eesti Vabariik | Estonia | Republic of Estonia | EE | — |
Éire/Ireland | Éire/Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | IE | IRL |
Ελλάδα (*) | Ελληνική Δημοκρατία | Greece | Hellenic Republic | EL | EL |
España | Reino de España | Spain | Kingdom of Spain | ES | E |
France | République française | France | French Republic | FR | F |
Italia | Repubblica italiana | Italy | Italian Republic | IT | I |
Κύπρος/Kıbrıs (*) | Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία | Cyprus | Republic of Cyprus | CY | — |
Latvija | Latvijas Republika | Latvia | Republic of Latvia | LV | — |
Lietuva | Lietuvos Respublika | Lithuania | Republic of Lithuania | LT | — |
Luxembourg | Grand-Duché de Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Grand Duchy of Luxembourg | LU | L |
Magyarország | Magyar Köztársaság | Hungary | Republic of Hungary | HU | — |
Malta | Repubblika Ta’ Malta | Malta | Republic of Malta | MT | — |
Nederland | Koninkrijk der Nederlanden | Netherlands | Kingdom of the Netherlands | NL | NL |
Österreich | Republik Österreich | Austria | Republic of Austria | AT | A |
Polska | Rzeczpospolita Polska | Poland | Republic of Poland | PL | — |
Portugal | República Portuguesa | Portugal | Portuguese Republic | PT | P |
România | România | Romania | Romania | RO | — |
Slovenija | Republika Slovenija | Slovenia | Republic of Slovenia | SI | — |
Slovensko | Slovenská republika | Slovakia | Slovak Republic | SK | — |
Suomi/Finland | Suomen tasavalta/ Republiken Finland |
Finland | Republic of Finland | FI | FIN |
Sverige | Konungariket Sverige | Sweden | Kingdom of Sweden | SE | S |
United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | UK | UK |
(*)
Latin transliteration: България = Bulgaria; Ελλάδα = Elláda; Κύπρος = Kýpros.
(1)
The short name in the source language(s) is used to fix the protocol order and is used in multilingual documents (see Section 7.1.2).
(2)
The abbreviation to use = ISO code, except for Greece and the United Kingdom, for which EL and UK are recommended (instead of the ISO codes GR and GB). The former abbreviations (generally taken from the international code for automobiles) were used until the end of 2002.
NB:
Do not use ‘Republic of Ireland’ nor ‘Irish Republic’. Use ‘the Netherlands’ not Holland, which is only part of the Netherlands (the provinces of North and South Holland); a capital T is not necessary on ‘the’. In tables ‘Netherlands’ will suffice. Use ‘United Kingdom’ for the Member State, not ‘Great Britain’, which comprises England, Scotland and Wales; these three together with Northern Ireland are the constituent parts of the United Kingdom. The purely geographical term ‘British Isles’ includes Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, which are not part of the United Kingdom). |
Non-member countries
For non-member countries, it is also advisable to use the two-character ISO code (ISO 3166 alpha-2).
For the format of presentation (short name, official title, list of ISO codes), see Annexes A5 and A6.
For the recommended order, see Section 7.1.2(a).
Candidate countries
Short name, source language(s) (geographical name) | Short name in English (geographical name) | Official name in English (protocol name) | Country code |
Hrvatska | Croatia | Republic of Croatia | HR |
поранешна југословенска Република Македонија (*) | former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the | the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | MK (1) |
Türkiye | Turkey |
Republic of Turkey | TR |
(*)
Latin transliteration: поранешна југословенска Република Македонија = poranešna jugoslovenska Republika Makedonija.
(1)
The ISO code (MK) is accepted, subject to addition of the following note: ‘Provisional code which does not prejudge in any way the definitive nomenclature for this country, which will be agreed following the conclusion of negotiations currently taking place at the United Nations.’
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Official title or short name?
The long form (official title) is used when the State is targeted as a legal entity:
This Decision is addressed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The French Republic is authorised to ...
The short form (short name) is used when the State is referred to geographically or economically:
Workers residing in France
Exports from Greece ...
Czech Republic
Ireland
Romania