The fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt has not so much given Israel a headache as a migraine. Europe – and Germany in particular – needs to play a leading role in reassuring Israel and keeping Middle East peace on track.
As Sergei Lavrov visits London, Britain needs to rethink its approach to Russia if it is to benefit from strong economic ties with Moscow. This need not mean that it has to compromise on its tough stance on human rights issues, provided it tries to push for a more united EU voice on Russia
For all the talk of a 'global Europe', the EU struggles to influence its neighbours in the Eastern Mediterranean. Its uncertainty over Egypt is indicative of a wider loss of direction in the EU's regional policies.
Europe went through its own year of democratic revolutions in 1989, yet its reaction to events in north Africa has lacked passion and purpose. European leaders meeting for a summit in Brussels must seize the opportunity to commit themselves to a strategy that puts them firmly on the side of democracy in the Middle East
EU member states worry too much about speaking with one voice. But endless unified expressions of 'interest and concern' about the situation in Tunisia and Egypt show that the problem is that others aren't listening because we often have little to say.
The announcement of cuts to BBC World Service language sections in the wider european neighbourhood is very bad news for strong, independent journalism in the region. But the development of new media technologies mean good journalism should no longer have to rely upon organisations like the BBC
ECFR reports: Gulnur Aybet on Turkey & NATO ECFR agenda: Kosovo's elections & the Balkans ECFR español: José Ignacio Torreblanca presenta “La fragmentación del poder europeo” ECFR italiano: le missioni civili all'estero funzionano? ECFR français: les implications de la crise monétaire ECFR deutsch: zu Deutschlands Rolle in Europa
President Lukashenka doesn't expect to lose the election being held in Belarus, but the great survivor knows that his basic strategy is under severe strain – both at home and abroad
The Maastricht foundation that underpins the € has been shown to be a fair weather construct, unsuited to the economic troubles of the last two years. Now a new storm-proof framework is needed, with Germany sharing economic sovereignty in exchange for other eurozone members buying into a new governance model largely devised in Berlin
There are two important lessons to be learned from last month's EU-Africa summit. First, Europe needs to reassert its diplomatic clout after a post-Lisbon period of uncertainty. Second, it needs to think more cleverly about how to promote its values in a world where our economic and political models are no longer unquestioningly accepted