The post-election violence in Belarus was both a surprise and a challenge. It hasn't ended the European Union's hopes of rapprochement with Minsk, but it has highlighted the need to understand and discriminate between actors in Belarus if it is to succeed in bringing the country in from the cold.

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.

In the past, Germany has been both a model and a partner for Spain. But there have been deep-seated changes in how Berlin views southern Europe, and seen from Spain, it is as if Germany has decided southern Europe is a burden that prevents it from going global and needs to be dumped.

The EU’s annual summit with Ukraine takes place with Brussels desperately searching for success stories in the Eastern Neighbourhood. The countries there are increasingly acting as balancers rather than joiners, treading a fine line between the EU and Moscow

One of the gravest challenges to Russia is thought to be the country's demographic crisis. But once migrants are taken into account the numbers don't look quite as bad. However this could have the result of turning a demographic crisis into an ethnic one. 

The meeting of Angela Merkel, Dmitri Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy at the French seaside resort of Deauville on Monday 18th has the right agenda - European security - but the wrong actors. A trialogue involving the EU, Russia and Turkey would be the best way to rethink security in Europe.