7.1.1. Designations and abbreviations to use
The abbreviations to use for Member States and non-EU countries are mainly the ISO codes and the designation to use (long or short form) depends on the context.
(See also Annexes A5 and A6.)
Member States
The names of the Member States of the European Union must always be written and abbreviated in accordance with the following rules:
- the two-letter ISO code should be used (ISO 3166 alpha-2), except for Greece, for which the abbreviation EL is recommended;
- the protocol order of the Member States is based on the Roman alphabetical order of their geographical names in the original language(s) (see also Section 7.1.2 ‘Country listing order’).
| Short name, in source language(s) (geographical name)(1) | Official name, in source language(s) (protocol name) | Short name in English (geographical name) | Official name in English (protocol name) | Country code(2) | Former abbreviation(3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgique/België | Royaume de Belgique/ Koninkrijk België | Belgium | Kingdom of Belgium | BE | B |
| България(4) | Република България | Bulgaria | Republic of Bulgaria | BG | — |
| Česko | Česká republika | Czechia | 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(5) | Éire/Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | IE | IRL |
| Ελλάδα(6) | 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 |
| Hrvatska | Republika Hrvatska | Croatia | Republic of Croatia | HR | — |
| Italia | Repubblica italiana | Italy | Italian Republic | IT | I |
| Κύπρος(7) | 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 | Magyarország | Hungary | Hungary | HU | — |
| Malta | Repubblika ta’ Malta | Malta | Republic of Malta | MT | — |
| Nederland(8) | 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 |
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).
The abbreviation to use = ISO code, except for Greece, for which EL is recommended (instead of the ISO code GR).
The former abbreviations (generally taken from the international code for automobiles) were used until the end of 2002.
Latin transliteration: България = Bulgaria.
Do not use ‘Republic of Ireland’. Although this name is found in some documents, it does not have official status.
Latin transliteration: Ελλάδα = Elláda.
Latin transliteration: Κύπρος = Kýpros.
Use ‘Netherlands’ not Holland, which is only part of the Netherlands (the provinces of North and South Holland).
Non-EU countries
For non-EU 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.
Candidate countries
| Short name, in source language(s) (geographical name) | Short name in English (geographical name) |
Official name in English (protocol name) |
Country code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bosna i Hercegovina/Боснa и Херцеговинa | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BA |
| Crna Gora/Црна Гора | Montenegro | Montenegro | ME |
| Republica Moldova | Moldova | Republic of Moldova | MD |
| საქართველო(1) | Georgia | Georgia | GE |
| Северна Македонија(2) | North Macedonia(3) | Republic of North Macedonia(3) | MK |
| Shqipëria | Albania | Republic of Albania | AL |
| Srbija/Сpбија | Serbia | Republic of Serbia | RS |
| Türkiye | Türkiye | Republic of Türkiye | TR |
| Україна(4) | Ukraine | Ukraine | UA |
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 …
If the recurrence of the name of a state in the text leads to a preference for using the short form, it can be introduced with the phrase ‘hereinafter referred to as …’.
The short form (short name) is used when the state is referred to geographically or economically:
Workers residing in France
Exports from Greece …
For certain states, the long form and the short form are identical:
Central African Republic
Ireland
Romania