As its international profile and interests grow, China's foreign policies – now those of a great power – are coming under increasing scrutiny. Here are the four fault lines that are forming in how Beijing deals with the world.
The reaction of both the markets and politicians suggests that the latest euro summit has been a success. But the outcome is unlikely to end the euro crisis, and parts of it might actually make it worse.
Throughout the Eurozone crisis, France has been well served by its decisive presidential system. But as thoughts turn to reforming the way the Eurozone works, France must come to terms with the power implications of a more federal system.
The European Union has a vital role to play in helping consolidate the transitions of the Arab Spring. But first they need to rethink their approach and develop a new foreign policy for the Southern neighbourhood: Enlargement lite will not work.
The European Union’s combination of crises – of finance, politics, and identity – makes the once unthinkable a real prospect: Europe is not “too big to fail”. What then should concerned Europeans do to ensure their continent's survival and progress?
The EU's credibility is at stake over the sentencing of Yuliya Tymoshenko to seven years imprisonment. Unless there are signals from Kiev that the sentence will be reviewed or repealled, the EU must act.
It looks like Vladimir Putin is heading back towards the Russian presidency that he first took over in December 1999. Putin's politics have changed little since then, but Russia is now a very different place and the Russians themselves want very different things.
The upheavels in North Africa are further evidence that the EU's neighbourhood has fundamentally changed, both to the south and to the east. In response, the EU needs to develop a real foreign policy to deal with this increasingly competitive region.
How might European disintegration play out if we do not learn from past folly? Uncontrolled collapse, a decisive jump forward leading to a big step back, or disintegration in disguise due to benign neglect?
Europe's economic troubles have forced it to continue looking to China for financing. But Beijing, which is thought to hold up to 30 percent of its reserves in euros, is driving an increasingly hard bargain.