Nuclear crises require a lot of unlikely events to occur at once, like all the holes in slices of Gruy?re cheese lining up. But as the nuclear ambitions of the Iranian president remind us, that is not a reason to ignore the perils of atomic weapons.

Eggs, smoke bombs and the Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine is back to playing the game it knows best: the balancing act between East and West.

The tragedy of the Polish air crash has formed a new bond between Poland and Russia. But will they be able to do in the east what France and Germany have done in the west?

Implementing the Lisbon Treaty is the bureaucratic equivalent of putting together an IKEA flat-pack table. First step: read the instructions.

Volcanoes, Greek tragedy and government collapses. Divine intervention? Not entirely - greed and stupidity play a big part.

The EU's common position on Burma is up for renegotiation. Sanctions might not be effective, but are they the only option the EU has?

The tragedy of the Smolensk plane crash has led to a strengthening of the rapprochement between Moscow and Warsaw. But is the reconciliation built upon more than a hug between Vladimir Putin and Donald Tusk?

The emergence of Nick Clegg in the British election campaign means Europe is an issue that can no longer be ignored by the other candidates

Tomorrow night?s foreign policy Leaders? Debate will cover a lot of ground, and Trident will no doubt be discussed. Nick Witney argues that a post-election defence review that does not include Trident is irresponsible and absurd.

Der Euro braucht eine institutionelle Komplettierung und es h?ngt ganz wesentlich von Deutschland ab, ob das erreicht wird oder nicht.

The EU should reinvent its crisis management capabilities / An open letter to the 27 Permanent Representatives to the EU.

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has created transport chaos, but the EU can lead the way in finding a trans-national solution to a cross-border crisis.

Summit after summit. Is the Spanish Presidency of the European Union running out of legs?

The West tried to help in Darfur and Chad. But by having to cooperate with governments responsible for much of the suffering, EU and UN troops ended up pawns in struggles they could not stop.

The EU enlargement debate used to be about expanding freedoms and preventing conflict. But a lot of Europeans now think that whatever lies outside the EU?s borders can stay there.