Only 27 out of 44 countries in Europe are part of the union. Governmentally speaking, Europe and the EU are not at all synonymous. >Much as, say, "China" is us

Only 27 out of 44 countries in Europe are part of the union. Governmentally speaking, Europe and the EU are not at all synonymous. >Much as, say, "China" is use to refer to the political entity that is the Chinese government rather than the geopgraphy, That's not at all a fair comparison. China is country, not a continent, and thus is pretty much defined as being the area under control of the PRC (and other Chinese regimes). Europe, being a continent, remains (in all relevant senses) constant in size, regardless of what happens to the European Union. >and "America" is used to refer to the USA government, not the continent. That's absurd rhetoric, too. I don't refer to the USA as America (well, sometimes I do, but I try not to). Besides, it would be strange to talk about California leaving America. One would say California left the USA.