Europeans need to respect what non-Western powers think, and that includes their militaries. Europe's Asian, African and Latin American counterparts are already playing a more vital role on the world stage; once Europe's defence budget cuts start to bite, this role will only increase.

The economic crisis has unquestionably dented the credibility of the liberal international order and caused a Europe-wide identity crisis. But, Susi Dennison argues, it would be a dangerous time for the EU to abandon its values, principles and approach to international relations. The economic crisis is already big enough; the last thing Europe needs is an existential one too.

ECFR italiano: le missioni civili all'estero funzionano?

ECFR español: El enfoque integral para la defensa europea

ECFR français: la crise et les devoirs du couple franco-allemand

ECFR reports: Europe in crisis - what next? 

ECFR deutsch: zu Deutschlands Rolle in Europa

The EU needs to go beyond the standard "wait, react, peacekeep!" approach to handling looming crises. Instead, Richard Gowan argues, the EU ought to focus on early diplomacy. Given the strains on national budgets, this may be a job for the EU-Team (aka the European External Action Service).

It's easier to enter a maximum security prison than Gaza. Lord Patten argues that the world – starting with the US administration and the European Union – should tell Israel to take its boot off Gaza's windpipe.

At a time of constrained budgets, getting the EU to invest more in conflict prevention and human rights protection in faraway places like Sudan and Kyrgyzstan may be a hard sell. But, as Richard Gowan argues, the alternative is another generation of Kosovos.

En Europa, la crisis tiene su lado político: el declive de la participación y el auge del populismo. La izquierda parece haber sido superada por una revolución conservadora. El miembro del Consejo de ECFR López Aguilar llama a esa izquierda atacada por un pesimismo de la voluntad a retomar la iniciativa, porque en esta crisis ¡es la política, estúpido!

The EU's bank stress tests were flawed. The methodology suffered fundamental problems and was designed to fix the results. As ECFR council member Wolfgang Münchau argues in the Financial Times, if you tried to test the safety of cars using the same method, you would end up in jail.

Before the euro crisis, Europe's leaders talked up the EU's global role. Now they are emphasising Europe's weaknesses and turning their backs on important foreign and security issues. In the meantime, crises continue to bubble in places like Sudan and the Middle East. Richard Gowan argues that weakness is not an excuse for inaction, but a reason to work in coalition.

In its advisory opinion of 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice said that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008 "did not violate general international law". But is statehood the real question hanging over Kosovo? Richard Gowan believes that corruption, rather than statehood, is the biggest issue facing Kosovo. 

Everyone's talking about the BRICs. But we shouldn't forget about the territories trying to become states. Kosovo, Palestine, Taiwan and East Timor: they're all looking for our attention, and in some cases make better 'states' that the recognised ones.

Spain's footballing triumph at the World Cup came as a welcome distraction for the Spanish people. Their economy is a shambles; their politicians are struggling to do their jobs; and the Spanish presidency of the EU badly damaged their international reputation. But at least Spain's football team offer lessons as well as hope.

The Political West (the US, Europe and Japan) are in the doldrums while the BRICs keep growing. A third of world economic growth in the last decade has taken place in BRIC countries. So far, so good for the BRICs. But what next?

The second of two high-profile seminars hosted by ECFR to mark the opening of our new London offices in Westminster. A panel of George Soros, Emma Bonino, Joschka Fischer, Lord Kerr, Anatole Kaletsky and Mark Leonard examine how Europe is coping with the financial crisis and what it means for the future.

Fifty years after gaining independence, the Democratic Republic of Congo remains deeply unstable. The help of China and the EU is needed to limit the dangers. But one is more likely than the other to lend a hand.