European article, genuine and delicate (8)
I believe the answer is:
ethereal
'delicate' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'european article genuine' is the wordplay.
'european' becomes 'E' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'article' becomes 'the' (the definite article).
'genuine' becomes 'real' (similar in meaning).
'e'+'the'+'real'='ETHEREAL'
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for ethereal that I've seen before include "Exquisite - as light as air" , "Spiritual" , "Of the spirit" , "Insubstantial or heavenly" , "Heavenly - fairy-like" .)