Enlargement commissioner Várhelyi "openly colluded [with Dodik] in potentially breaking up Bosnia and Herzegovina", according to dozens of MEPs who wrote to Várhelyi's boss.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell has gone against Germany by saying the fate of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was tied to events in Ukraine.

For each of the possible future conflicts in the EU's neighbourhood, the EU will need Turkey as a strategic partner. Therefore it is time to put past slights and sensitivities aside.

Experts and activists have warned the European Commission that including natural gas and nuclear power in its plan for sustainable finance will lead to further greenwashing, split financial markets and undermine the bloc's climate objectives.

Invasion is unlikely to be Vladimir Putin's preferred option. Yet this game of brinkmanship has another part of the equation. If Russia invades Ukraine, the costs for Europe will be equally devastating.

Nato and Russia are in talks to reopen their embassies in Brussels and Moscow amid Western efforts to dial down tension on Ukraine.