Could the dream of a “G3”  between the EU, China and the US ever become a reality? Or will the EU remain in the sidelines? Francois Godement argues in a piece for Le Monde that to avoid irrelevance, the EU needs to decide what it wants from China. (article in French)

Pakistan's floods; Haiti's earthquake; Russia's fires. What did the EU do to help? Richard Gowan argues that the EU must improve its political response to crises and not just its ability to deliver aid.

Europeans need to respect what non-Western powers think, and that includes their militaries. Europe's Asian, African and Latin American counterparts are already playing a more vital role on the world stage; once Europe's defence budget cuts start to bite, this role will only increase.

The economic crisis has unquestionably dented the credibility of the liberal international order and caused a Europe-wide identity crisis. But, Susi Dennison argues, it would be a dangerous time for the EU to abandon its values, principles and approach to international relations. The economic crisis is already big enough; the last thing Europe needs is an existential one too.

The EU needs to go beyond the standard "wait, react, peacekeep!" approach to handling looming crises. Instead, Richard Gowan argues, the EU ought to focus on early diplomacy. Given the strains on national budgets, this may be a job for the EU-Team (aka the European External Action Service).

It's easier to enter a maximum security prison than Gaza. Lord Patten argues that the world – starting with the US administration and the European Union – should tell Israel to take its boot off Gaza's windpipe.

At a time of constrained budgets, getting the EU to invest more in conflict prevention and human rights protection in faraway places like Sudan and Kyrgyzstan may be a hard sell. But, as Richard Gowan argues, the alternative is another generation of Kosovos.

En Europa, la crisis tiene su lado político: el declive de la participación y el auge del populismo. La izquierda parece haber sido superada por una revolución conservadora. El miembro del Consejo de ECFR López Aguilar llama a esa izquierda atacada por un pesimismo de la voluntad a retomar la iniciativa, porque en esta crisis ¡es la política, estúpido!

The EU's bank stress tests were flawed. The methodology suffered fundamental problems and was designed to fix the results. As ECFR council member Wolfgang Münchau argues in the Financial Times, if you tried to test the safety of cars using the same method, you would end up in jail.

Before the euro crisis, Europe's leaders talked up the EU's global role. Now they are emphasising Europe's weaknesses and turning their backs on important foreign and security issues. In the meantime, crises continue to bubble in places like Sudan and the Middle East. Richard Gowan argues that weakness is not an excuse for inaction, but a reason to work in coalition.

In its advisory opinion of 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice said that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008 "did not violate general international law". But is statehood the real question hanging over Kosovo? Richard Gowan believes that corruption, rather than statehood, is the biggest issue facing Kosovo. 

Everyone's talking about the BRICs. But we shouldn't forget about the territories trying to become states. Kosovo, Palestine, Taiwan and East Timor: they're all looking for our attention, and in some cases make better 'states' that the recognised ones.

Spain's footballing triumph at the World Cup came as a welcome distraction for the Spanish people. Their economy is a shambles; their politicians are struggling to do their jobs; and the Spanish presidency of the EU badly damaged their international reputation. But at least Spain's football team offer lessons as well as hope.