EEC stands for the European Economic Community. It was a group of European countries that joined together, first of all to make trade easier — fewer taxes at the borders, shared rules for business. It began in the 1950s with a small number of countries and then grew. In the early 1990s it turned into what we now call the European Union, which does more than trade: money, travel, and a lot of law. So EEC is the old name, not the name on the news today. Older people, especially in Britain, still say EEC from habit. You will see it in history books and old newspapers. It is official, formal language.