Since taking office last month, Mr. Hatoyama has repeatedly discussed his desire to create what he calls an East Asian Community, a regional alliance inspired by the European Union.

自上个月上任以来，鸠山由纪夫再三表示希望建立一个所谓的“东亚共同体”，这是一种仿效欧盟的地区联盟。

youdao

The result was, as he puts it, "a quasi alliance," which, though initially intended to contain the Soviet Union, ended up outliving the Cold War.

结果是，用他的话说“准联盟”，虽然最初的设想是遏制苏联，最终却超出了冷战时期。

youdao

Although membership of the alliance, opposed by 60% of Ukrainians, has been dropped from the country's official objectives, accession to the European Union remains Ukraine's top strategic priority.

由于有60%的乌克兰人反对，加入北约已不再是乌克兰当局的目标，但加入欧盟仍是乌克兰国家战略的当务之急。

youdao

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakup of Yugoslavia in the nineteen nineties challenged NATO's traditional position as a defensive alliance.

VOA: special.2009.04.04

But when the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union dissolved in 1989, the western alliance's main reason for being disappeared.

VOA: standard.2010.06.11

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and central Europe have become NATO members, almost doubling the alliance's number of countries from 15 to 28.

VOA: standard.2009.09.04

Artur Mas has headed Catalonia's regional executive since December 2010, when his centre-right Convergence and Union alliance defeated the Socialist Party of his predecessor, Jose Montilla, in legislative elections.

BBC: Catalonia profile

The European Union and Nato alliance both pledged their support for Mr Allawi's government.

BBC: 28 June

Alan Fletcher, who plays Dr Karl Kennedy in the popular soap opera, is among those backing the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance union.

BBC: Neighbours stars join strike