EC here means the European Community — the old name people used for the group of European countries that later became the European Union (the EU). Older British newspapers, school books, and official papers often said ‘the EC’ the way people now say ‘the EU.’ The story underneath is a little messy: there was first the European Economic Community (sometimes called the Common Market), then the name European Community, and then the European Union, which took over in everyday talk. For a learner, the useful fact is this: in a history text or an old news story, EC is probably the same political family as today’s EU, not a different club. In today’s news, people say EU, not EC.