欧盟委员会曾经宣布，将暂时维持对中国皮鞋的反倾销税措施。
Can I write： ‘欧盟委员会宣布了‘ or ‘欧盟委员会宣布过‘，or even ‘欧盟委员会曾经宣布过‘instead？ I mean, is it a past tense marker here, or does it mean 'once'?
'曾经' means 'once' here. This word is used when you talk about some situation that has occurred or has been experience before. I don't find this case weird at all.
'宣布过' is similar to '曾经宣布', actually '曾经宣布过' is also good here.
'了' is different. It stresses on the fact that some action or behavior has been finished.
By the way, there's no 'tense' in Chinese. You may say that these words are related to the past, so the sentences that have them are usually translated into past tense.
曾经 can be described as a sign of perfect tense and like the meaning of 'ever'.
So
欧盟委员会曾经宣布 ...
can be translated as
The European Commission has announced ...
The sentence you wrote
欧盟委员会宣布了 ...
is like a the present/past tense sentence.
The European Commission announced ...
Whereas other two sentences are fine for this meaning.
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Thanks. Just some friendly advice: I've noticed that Chinese people often have trouble with 'ever' and are not sure how to use it. It is difficult. Even what it means is difficult to pinpoint. (oops I used 'even' there without thinking) Your use above is not good, but I don't know how to explain the correct usage in just a few words. Try an internet search. – Pedroski May 11 '15 at 5:19
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As a Native English speaker, I agree with Pedroski's assessment (both that "ever" is difficult to learn to use correctly, and also that the use above is distinctly awkward). I would say that in this position, it means something along the lines of "over all past time." It is fairly uncommon to be used in the positive in this situation in English; one is far more likely to say things like "They have never denied (something)" or "They haven't ever denied (something)." The proper translation of the first sentence is, "The European Commission has announced..." – Brian Tung May 11 '15 at 19:26
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@Pedroski Thank you for your advice about my answer. I know that in first sentence the word "ever" should not to be used. The only reason I add it is want to make the meaning of 曾經 stand out. – biubiubiu May 12 '15 at 2:43
曾经宣布seems weird in the sentence. – songyuanyao♦ May 11 '15 at 1:10