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No 2 – June 2026

Abbreviations (acronyms and initialisms): a few rules to remember

Abbreviations are widely used in EU texts and, when used appropriately, help make texts shorter and easier to read.

The ISG provides guidance in Section 10 on how to write them, and there is a list with some of the most commonly used ones in Annex A4.

Here are some key points to keep in mind.

First use: spell out the term in full, followed by the abbreviation in brackets, e.g. European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Once introduced, the shortened form can be used consistently throughout the rest of the text.
Avoid overuse: only use abbreviations where they help readability.
Do not use full stops in abbreviations written in capitals (EU, FAO).
Abbreviations that can be pronounced as words (acronyms) of up to five letters are written entirely in capitals (ENISA).
Longer acronyms are written with an initial capital followed by lower case (Benelux).
Abbreviations in which the letters are pronounced individually (initialisms) remain in capitals (CCAMLR).

These conventions apply across language versions, although the number of letters used as a threshold for the capitalisation of acronyms may differ in some languages (e.g. four letters in Dutch and three in Swedish).

Useful documents: an overview

The Useful documents page, accessible via the header of the ISG website, lists a range of resources for the use of authors of general publications in particular, but also legal drafters.

‘A quick reference guide’ provides guidance on where to place identifiers and information on the edition, copyright and publisher in printed and PDF publications.
Users can download the latest files containing these publicity elements, grouped by author category and available in 24 languages.
The useful notions documents contain the 24 language versions of commonly used elements, such as quotation marks, brackets, copyright notices, disclaimers, names of EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, etc.

Equatorial Guinea has a new capital

Ciudad de la Paz was designated the new capital of Equatorial Guinea by presidential decree in January 2026, replacing the previous capital, Malabo.

New English spelling of Bern

To reflect the recent update in the IATE database, the English name of Switzerland’s capital has been changed from Berne to Bern.

Table of contents: navigate with ease

Clicking on the contents button in the toolbar opens a dropdown menu, which allows users to access the different parts of the style guide. While this panel remains displayed it is easy to navigate within the ISG. However, it lacks a comprehensive overview of the full structure.

To address this, an expanded table of contents has been added, offering an at-a-glance outline of the style guide’s contents.

The expanded table of contents is always just a click away – follow the link in the footer.

No 1 – March 2026

Welcome to News & Tips!

Welcome to the first edition of News & Tips, your source for updates on the Interinstitutional Style Guide (ISG).

In each issue, we will keep you informed of key developments, highlight important changes and share practical tips to help you use the ISG more efficiently.

For a complete overview of recent updates, visit the News page.

Revised guidance on footnotes

Footnotes in EU publications are presented in an identical way in all 24 official languages to ensure consistency across all language versions. Section 8 has been revised to provide clear and aligned guidance.

Take note of the following key points.

Footnote references have a figure in superscript between brackets: (¹).
For repetitive footnotes, an asterisk between brackets is used: (*).
In very specific cases, a lower-case superscript letter between brackets may be used: (^a).
Footnote references are always preceded by a non-breaking thin space and followed by the necessary punctuation.
They are set in light roman, even when they appear in headings or texts written in italics or bold.
Footnotes are generally numbered continuously (like in acts published in the Official Journal), though the numbering may also restart on each page.
Footnote text always ends with a full stop, including when it ends with an internet address.
If a footnote reference appears in a table, the corresponding footnote must be placed inside the frame of the table, not at the bottom of the page.
Similarly, if different types of notes appear below a table or figure, they must be presented in the following order:

For full details, please consult Sections 8.1 and 8.2.

Polish: new spelling rules

On 1 January 2026, the latest Polish spelling and punctuation reform entered into force. The Polish ISG group prepared the update of the style guide in autumn 2025, and Part Four now reflects the new rules.

The reform simplifies existing conventions, for example by:

introducing consistent capitalisation of demonyms (Warszawianin), and most elements of public space (Kosciól Mariacki);
standardising the lower-case spelling of adjectives derived from proper names (chopinowski);
clarifying the writing of compounds and negative forms (nienajlepszy), alongside adjustments to prefixes, hyphenation and naming conventions.

You can consult the full set of changes in Section 10 or in the official Polish document ‘Zasady pisowni i interpunkcji polskiej’.

Currencies: one more Member State is using the euro

As of 1 January, Bulgaria is part of the euro area. The currency used is the euro, and no longer the lev. Section 7.3.2, Annex A5 and Annex A7 of the ISG have been updated accordingly.

Drafting tip. In English, use the official term ‘euro area’ and avoid other terms such as ‘euroland’ or ‘euro zone’. For other languages, see the relevant version of Section 7.3.1.

Bilingual view: a useful feature of the website

The bilingual view allows you to find easily the equivalent rule or information in another language.

Simply click the blue ‘Bilingual view’ button towards the top of the ISG pages.

ISG Newsletter

You can display any two languages side by side. Click on the ‘x’ to return to the page you started from.