As the EU and Russia hold their latest summit neither side can boast that they are in the best of health. But the summit is important for symbolic reasons - and there are several practical issues that they can address at the same time.

Algeria did not catch fire in the year of the Arab Spring, but this does not mean that it does not deserve the attention of the EU. Algeria needs to reform if it is to remain stable, and it needs European help to do so.

The only real success of the euro summit was that it might encourage the ECB to step up its role in the euro area. But years more austerity and a major rift with Britain are a high price the whole euro zone will have to pay for German ideology.

Russia in 2010 was as corrupt as Papua New Guinea, had the property rights of Kenya and was as competitive as Sri Lanka. As Putin readies himself to retake the presidency he must also work out how to deal with a country that is now firmly post-BRIC.

Russia's election results are bad news for Putin for two reasons. Firstly United Russia did badly despite the election being biased in its favour, and secondly it shows that Putin can no longer rely on an apathetic population.

The hunt is on for ways to offer security and aid to Syrian civilians, but the risk of any military-humanitarian mission backfiring is high. The lessons of Darfur are that any peacekeepers would be targeted, especially as the unrest turns into full-scale war.

The economic crisis has huge implications for EU foreign policy. There is less time for it, less money available, and Europe's ability to project soft power is in a coma.

Just as the mechanisms that made democracy function in city states were not adequate for governing nation states, representative democracies today are showing themselves incapable of managing, effectively and democratically, the system that is emerging in Europe.

The answer to the EU's current problems is to rebuild from scratch, replacing the existing EU with a new, two layered structure with an inner and an outer core.

The economic crisis is now at a critical point, and Europe's leaders must chose between a federated eurozone power or yielding to the power of the markets and economic and political disruption.

Russia's foreign policy over the coming decade will bear the signature of Vladimir Putin, as Russia seeks new alliances and international clout. The price that Russia is likely to pay is international isolation

Despite the deepening crisis, when taken as a whole the Eurozone's basic figures do not look too bad. But because the Eurozone is a flawed construction these figures are only a distraction, and the need for real reforms remains.

The actions of Britain's coalition government are making it more likely that we will see the EU disintegrate, leaving behind a saved Eurozone that marginalises all those outside it - including Britain itself.

The present crisis of the Eurozone is a direct consequence of a half hearted, half considered, half explained and therefore half finished integration. Europeans must be prepared for sacrifice, but our leaders must make sure that sacrifice is worthwhile.

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.