Closely related, but different types of European (7)
I believe the answer is:
germane
'closely related' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'different types of european' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'european' could be 'german' (Germany is in Europe) and 'german' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'but' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for germane that I've seen before include "Apposite" , "Relevant to current topic" , "Relevant - appropriate" , "Relevant (to subject)" , "Material" .)