The Serbian presidential elections this weekend look familiar - but Serbia is a very different place to how it was in 2004 and 2008. It is normalising fast and its core concerns are far more similar to other European countries than they were before.

The prospect of a victory by François Hollande may be causing nervousness in Berlin and elsewhere, but the socialist candidate in the French presidential elections is a natural compromise-builder, and Europe should have no real reason to fear his victory.

As France votes in the first round of its presidential elections, the French people have been denied an analytically, politically honest and comprehensive engagement by the politicians with the real issues at hand in France and Europe.

Vladimir Putin is set to reassume the reins of power in the Kremlin. But what will Russia's foreign policy be, and how should the European Union and its member states react?

The re-election of Vladimir Putin presents the EU with an opportunity to encourage reform in Russia. It should set up an EU-Russia anti corruption dialogue and work harder to prevent the proceeds of corruption ending up in Europe.