It is probably in the area of foreign policy that Europeans have the highest expectations of the Lisbon Treaty. They expect a European Union that is capable of speaking with one voice on the major international issues that concern them directly.

If further proof were needed that the Labour Party has all but abandoned the Special Relationship, look no further than their new manifesto, which doesn't even mention the partnership with America, except for a brief throwaway reference to a "false choice" between the US and Europe.

The question of whether Russia is Europe's partner or challenger is the wrong question," Karaganov said. The former advisor to Presidents Putin and Yeltsin said that politicians ought to be asking whether the two sides are "allies or strategic idiots.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme says the creation of a European Union foreign minister — the job currently held by the U.K.'s Catherine Ashton — has freed him up to conduct what he calls "economic diplomacy."

Russia's greater openness toward examining Soviet-era crimes such as the Katyn massacre could help normalise its relations with the EU's eastern flank.

The future direction of European defense is at a crossroads. On the one hand, the NATO experience in Afghanistan has cast into stark relief the limits of European military capacities, not only at the operational but also at the political levels.

Reports that the East African Community is close to signing an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union may be a mirage.

The European Union says it has saved those seeking entrance to the bloc the hassle of long lines and difficult forms to fill out at consulates, as it has streamlined the Schengen visa application process.