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 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.

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 euro crisis seems to have revealed a more inward-looking and nationalistic Germany. But Germany’s shift towards the domestic is more subtle than it appears. And it is certainly not just a recent development.

George Soros gave a public speech on the euro crisis in Berlin on 23 June. In his speech, Mr Soros argued that the euro crisis could lead to the destruction of the European Union, setting in motion a “downward spiral” as member states struggle to reduce public deficits. He said delicate manoeuving is required, with German leadership. You can download the full transcript of the speech here in English, German and French.

Die Machtbalace in den deutsch-französischen Beziehungen hat sich radikal verschoben.

At the end of June Spain reaches the end of its rotating presidency of the EU. Spain’s economic woes and the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty have made it a difficult presidency to handle. But there’s more at stake: the decreasing influence of the EU on the international stage puts Spain in a difficult position. Should it move away from Europe, and if yes, how?

29 May is the 5th anniversary of the French “non” to the EU constitution. The Dutch followed with a “nee” a few days later. Richard Gowan paints a bleak picture of the Europe that might have emerged had the French and Dutch backed the EU constitution in 2005, and asks: Will the EU never be happy?

Catherine Ashton will be judged on how she responds to her first international emergency. Budget cuts might mean there will be less EU missions to crisis zones under her watch. So where will her first opportunity come from? Africa, the Middle East, or a crisis involving Russia?

The historic reordering of British politics has been overshadowed by the world’s worst financial crisis in generations. The rest of Europe waits to see what David Cameron will do.

What’s the verdict on the EU-Latin American summit, held in Spain earlier this week? For one thing: Latin American matters to Europe. And trade seems to have been a winner too.

What is defence really for and what should Europe do after defence budgets have been ravaged by the economic crisis? In the second of a two part series of podcasts, Daniel Korski talks to Nick Witney about how European security will have to be rethought from the ground up after the economic crisis - and how the best option might be to become a spikey, hedgehog-like larger version of Switzerland.

The European Commission’s budget monitoring proposals are sensible, but to succeed they must be firmly rooted in the democratic procedures of member states.

Forget reputations. Britain’s new coalition government of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats will temper its foreign policy approach with a healthy dose of pragmatism.