Somehow Europe must not be flatter (6,7,2)

I believe the answer is:

butter someone up

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'flatter' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't judge whether this works.

'somehow europe must not be' is the wordplay.
'somehow' indicates anagramming the letters.
'europe'+'must'+'not'+'be'='europemustnotbe'
'europemustnotbe' anagrammed gives 'BUTTER SOMEONE UP'.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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