There are 10 good reasons for Europeans to support enhanced UN status for the Palestinians. There is also an eleventh reason: the 27 EU nations can show that they count on the world stage if they are able to stick together.
Europeans have much to gain from unity during any vote at the United Nations supporting Palestinian statehood. However the best response to a complex situation is to abstain. A response to ECFR's recent memo in favour of a 'yes' vote.
In a response to an article by Jan Techau attacking Common Security and Defence Policy, Nick Witney argues that Europe can and must take on more shared responsibility for its own security in the multipolar 21st century.
Despite the fashionable talk about BRICS and the G2 of Washington and Beijing, we really now live in a G3 world that combines US military power and consumption, Chinese capital and labour, and European rules and technology.
The European financial crisis is not just about the immediate debt problem: it's about Europe's longer term viability in a more competitive world. For the sake of future European generations we need to start the hard bargaining process over real and painful reforms straight away.
In this contribution to an online Economist debate on the future of the euro, Thomas Klau argues that the single currency is indispensible if Europe is to punch its weight on the global stage in the 21st century.
Understandably, European governments are rethinking their aid budgets in the light of the economic crisis. But any cuts to aid and foreign ministry budgets should be judged according to results rather than a simple cost calculation.
The longer term challenges for Europe's politicians are to contest real power at a European level and be honest with voters about the issues confronting the continent in the 21st century.