The outcome of the uprisings in North Africa is still in the balance and although it will be mainly up to the North Africans themselves to decide their future, Europe has a key role to play on the side of reform – especially Paris, Rome and Madrid.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu eulogized the country's seventh prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir. At first glance the two strike very contrasting profiles yet in terms of ideology and policies, they are probably the two most kindred spirits to have held the office.
Europe would seem an unlikely place to look for fresh thinking regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Yet that is precisely what just happened.
Israel’s largest opposition party has joined the Prime Minister’s coalition rather than go to elections. Most of this was about raw political calculations – but it also offered an insight into the thinking of Benjamin Netanyahu.