Former European produces glue (5)
I believe the answer is:
paste
'glue' is the definition.
(I know that glue can be written as paste)
'former european' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'past' (similar in meaning).
'european' becomes 'E' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'past'+'e'='PASTE'
'produces' is the link.
(Other definitions for paste that I've seen before include "Wallpaper glue" , "Soft, malleable material - stick" , "food preparation" , "Adhesive, for wallpaper say" , "Fake gems; adhesive" .)