“The campaign for a transparent and democratically elected President of the European Commission” – Hurrah! I’m sure that (for once) we can all agree this is a good idea. (via Our Kingdom)

“appearances matter… Putin has acted and spoken publicly in ways that have reinforced the impression that he intends to remain the country’s ultimate decision maker” – good overview, and some things I’d missed

Nice open letter on openDemocracy: “the credible prospect of EU membership was the best way to achieve a democratic and reformed Turkey which was in European interest”

Yep – that’s the old Cold War superpowers still arguing over how Europe should be carved up. Hurrah for progress!

“The initial post mortems on this week’s NATO’s summit in Bucharest are reminiscent of the old fable about a group of blindfolded men trying to identify the elephant in their midst” – sounds like a familiar argument (ahem), but worth making again

“There are many paths that Serbia can take after May 11 elections. None of them is painless, none of them is easy”

Good. Can we also get a deal on free movement of workers while we’re at it? (And not just because the missus is Japanese, honest…)

Ireland’s had the same people at the top for so long, a handy intro to the new guy was just what I needed (even if I should already have known more about the guy).

Another good, timely overview of what the hell’s going on, for those who like their politics complex and confusing

Looks like something’s happening in the Dutch Right – something that’s not being noticed while all attention is focussed on the more obvious controversies over Muslim-baiting movies

Hurrah! – “greater realism must be injected into the European approach to the relationship… This does not mean rupturing the relationship: realism, acknowledged and wisely applied, will strength

Tip-top look at whether or not the Euro could be in the process of replacing the US dollar as the world’s top currency. Even I (mostly) understood it, and I’m an economic illiterate…