Jan Techau, director of Carnegie Europe in Brussels, argues that the EU should abandon its Common Security and Defence Policy in favour of the thing that will really keep Europe free and safe: a properly cultivated transatlantic relationship.

The euro is on fire, and the measures proposed by George Soros to put out the blaze are essential. The next step is a 'Federation Lite', which would at last allow the EU to work in a logical way.

The establishment of a proper eurozone treasury as part of a European executive body controlled by European parliamentarians looks politically a long way off. But that is where the current crisis is leading us.

The financial crisis has laid bare the shortcomings of the policies and institutions underpinning European Monetary Union. These must be remedied. But Europe also needs to rediscover a sense of fairness. A radical overhaul of the financial markets would be an important step in that direction.

Working out what Beijing really thinks about the euro crisis is not easy. There are Chinese voices warning that buying the debt of troubled European states is "throwing good money after bad," but others know that China cannot pour its money solely into the dollar. Ultimately, Beijing’s attitude to the euro will be determined by China’s own internal economic logic.