Hungary has taken the rotating presidency of the European Union at a hugely important moment. Having been the UK’s Europe Minister during Britain’s last EU Presidency in 2005, I have some experience of the hard, diplomatic work involved.

The European Union awaits "strong and clear" action from Tunisia to help stem the flow of migrants fleeing the country, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday.

The crisis in Libya was full of lessons for all sides involved. Turkey understood that it does not have the power to act without the European Union or the United States; and Europe understood that without Turkey it is unable to conduct effective politics in some regions.

The revolutionary upheaval in the Southern neighbourhood and the failures of reforms in most of the Eastern neighbourhood are begging for a revised EU approach to the neighbourhood policy (ENP). In March the EU presented some ideas on ‘a partnership for democracy and shared prosperity’ with the Southern Mediterranean.

Last week I chaired a meeting on Turkey’s role in the Middle East. There seems to be a never-ending interest, in Brussels at least, to discuss and debate Turkish foreign policy.Therefore, and needless to say, the discussion went far beyond recent events in the Middle East and North Africa...

At this time of regional turmoil – indeed global crisis – I want to share some thoughts with you about the way we in Britain see Turkey, its neighbors and Europe. There can be no doubt Turkey is already a key global power.

The revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have brought home to many people that Turkey has become a force to be reckoned with in this region. Turkey enjoys lots of credibility in the Arab world. It has burgeoning trade ties and solid political relations with many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries.

From all the terrible news typically coming out of reports from Israel and the West Bank, a March 15 article from Bloomberg Press, struck a happier note. For advocates of public diplomacy between Israelis and Palestinians, corporate diplomacy could be a key factor in restarting the peace process.