Stand holding very European rodent (6)
I believe the answer is:
beaver
'rodent' is the definition.
(I know that beaver is a type of rodent)
'stand holding very european' is the wordplay.
'stand' becomes 'bear' (both can mean to tolerate or endure).
'holding' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'very' becomes 'v' (common abbreviation).
'european' becomes 'e' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'v'+'e'='ve'
'bear' enclosing 've' is 'BEAVER'.
(Other definitions for beaver that I've seen before include "Facial protection" , "Semi-aquatic rodent" , "Hard-working furry rodent" , "Lodge-building rodent" , "Soft furry rodent" .)