I simply understood the EU label on that TechCrunch page to refer to Europe, not the political entity. I don't think that's an unreasonable way to read it in a

I simply understood the EU label on that TechCrunch page to refer to Europe, not the political entity. I don't think that's an unreasonable way to read it in a journalistic context. There is no other readily available shorthand for referring to the continent, particularly since EUR refers to the currency.