The good thing is that all the symbolic elements are gone, and that which really matters - the core - is left.

The American people ask, and legitimately so, why should we carry the heavy burden to ensure international peace and stability. You also profit from it, so you should also take your share in the burden. That's Secretary Gates's message. I share that message.

Business as usual is dead. Green growth is the answer to both our climate and economic problems

The Americans provide still more advanced military assets and equipment; the Europeans are lagging behind. And eventually it will be difficult to co-operate even if you had the political will to co-operate because of the technological gap.

Nato allies have been looking at various missile-defence options for some time. Nato itself is developing protections for our deployed troops.

More than forty years of Communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe resulted in an unhappy and artificial division of Europe. It is this dark chapter of European history that we now have the opportunity to close.

Myopia, in more than ninety-five percent of cases, begins between five and ten years of age. It increases largely because the myopic eye is given a minus lens.