The reputation of the UN and Ban Ki-moon may hinge upon the outcome in two of the world's trouble spots - South Sudan and Palestine. South Sudan in particular remains a crucial test of the institution's ability to handle weak states.

The killing of Osama bin Laden will have a significant impact on both al-Qaeda and the fight against Islamic terrorism by the US and its allies. President Obama now has the task - and the opportunity - to rethink how the US is conducting that fight.

European countries are playing a central role in the Libyan intervention, and the EU is looking to help the transitions in Tunisia and Egypt. But before Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire, setting off the sequence of protests, how well did Europe perform when dealing with its southern neighbourhood last year?

Agreement over Europe's performance is not the aim of ECFR's European Foreign Policy Scorecard. The aim is to encourage serious debate about the goals, tools, resources, difficult trade offs and moral dilemmas of Europe's foreign policy - even if that means that readers strongly disagree with our conclusions.

It is time to get real about Libya. All the huffing and puffing of Western leaders has yet to bring Gaddafi’s house crashing down. Instead, European leaders must think about what realistic outcomes they might be able to help achieve.

The EU needs to act on Libya. If it doesn't, the consequences for Europe – in terms of migration, energy revenues and support for terrorism – could be disasterous. Here are eight concrete steps that European leaders should consider taking.

Tunisians see Europe as complicit with the old regime of President Ben Ali, and were disappointed by the slow reaction of European leaders to their revolution. But they are willing to forgive, if their neighbours to the north makes amends by offering prompt and generous help as they rebuild their country.

Tunisia's democrats have made an amazing start, after launching the wave of popular uprisings that are continuing to rock the Arab world. But they worry that the world will forget them as they embark upon the massive project of rebuilding a new Tunisia.

Libya is in chaos, and Colonel Gaddafi seems determined to hang on to power at any expense. But he has already lost control of large swathes of the country, the security forces and bureaucracy, and it is not premature to start planning for a post-Gaddafi Libya.

If there ever was a need and an opportunity for Europe to show its muscles, Colonel Gaddafi is providing one. The test is a different one for the EU after the turmoil in Tunisia, Egypt and beyond, but European leaders can no longer look the other way.

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.

The crises in Côte d’Ivoire and Tunisia have exposed the strategic challenge for France now that its former sphere of influence appears to be collapsing. But a post-colonial Europe still has the ability to affect African affairs.

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.