Europe does not have an automatic seat at the table in Asia Pacific and must therefore work harder to secure its own interests. However, on issues of trade and economics, the EU is clearly showing that it has a strategy that it is implementing.
Europe’s image and soft power continues to fade around the world but Europe's foreign policy did not unravel in 2012. The EU managed to preserve the essence of its acquis diplomatique.
The two giant economies – Europe and the US – are no longer as different as they once were. Austerity and the prospect of decline have brought them back together.
As the European Union and Ukraine prepare for their delayed summit in Brussels on Feb. 25, many are wondering why the two sides are meeting at all. Nobody expects any decisive breakthrough, even though this is the highest level meeting between the two entities, taking place on a yearly basis.
With his State of the Union address, President Obama combined the two most powerful tactics of modern politics – big speeches and big data – to spur political action. Are we witnessing a reinvention of representative democracy?
What is the rationale behind North Korea's third nuclear test – and what exactly does it mean for the security of the wider region and the interests of China, the US, Russia and Europe?
The efforts of smaller states in 2012 give reason to hope that over time, the power that lies in the EU’s diversity could be unlocked and used to make the EU's foreign policy more effective.
A ‘plug-and-play' approach to peacekeeping lacks the glamour of a full-scale military intervention but it could be a cheaper and a more strategic approach for the EU to deal with the situation in Mali.
Egypt appears to be spinning out of control. The current crisis is a prolongation of the crisis that emerged late last year over a decree by President Morsi suspending some judicial decisions and giving himself additional powers, followed by the rush to approve a new constitution.
In foreign policy the UK is already far more involved in Europe than its disengaged image would suggest. ECFR's European Foreign Policy Scorecard suggests that the UK is up there with Germany and France as a leader in European foreign policy.