Record retired north European spins (5)
I believe the answer is:
enter
'record' is the definition.
(enter can mean to enter into a record)
'retired north european spins' is the wordplay.
'retired' becomes 'ret' (e.g. following the name of a retired army officer).
'north' becomes 'N' (abbreviation).
'european' becomes 'E' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'spins' says the letters should be written backwards (I've seen 'spun' mean this).
'ret'+'n'+'e'='retne'
'retne' written backwards gives 'ENTER'.
(Other definitions for enter that I've seen before include "Join (for the first time)" , "Enrol" , "Set foot in" , "Go in and put in the ledger" , "Get in" .)