What Syriza shares with the Dem Left and Pasok is its commitment to the EU social model: they are left globalists.

BBC: Greece: Trying to understand Syriza

They are a mixed bunch, ranging from model EU citizens such as Estonia (recently smitten by a property bust, but all set to gain permission this year to join the euro) to Romania and Bulgaria, which have become bywords in Brussels for corruption and organised crime respectively.

ECONOMIST: ��Eastern Europe��: Wrongly labelled | The

How can the EU claim to be a political model for the 21st-century superstate when it remains so backward-looking on this key point?

FORBES: Current Events

Monday morning euphoria over the deal to bail out Cyprus despite rescission of its levy on small bank deposits got stocks off to a good start but stumbled on subsequent comments by Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup head of eurozone finance ministers, that the Cyprus restructuring plan could be a model for fixing larger EU banking issues.

FORBES: Stocks Sing Euro Blues But Apple Stays Uptempo

Meanwhile, French Green MEP Sandrine Belier said the EU must push for "a new model of development" to come out of the crisis, including a financial transaction tax and green taxation.

BBC: EU 'disappointed' by Rio+20 agreement

Mr Blair has a good story to tell - and to sell as a possible model for more struggling economies in the EU. But to do this, he must first find a new and more constructive tone when dealing with Britain's EU partners.

BBC: NEWS | Europe | EU's 'Waterloo' summit angers press

Brussels has warned Ukraine that, were it to join this customs union, it would jeopardise its partnership with the EU. Russia itself sees the EU as a source of innovation, but not a model for democracy.

ECONOMIST: Russia, NATO and Europe

He suggested that the UK should model itself on Norway which - by remaining outside of the EU - had control over farming and fisheries policies and was not bound by policies on justice and home affairs.

BBC: UK will ultimately join euro says Lord Heseltine

Meanwhile, by subsidising exports, the EU is depressing world butter prices by as much as a fifth, according to one economic model.

ECONOMIST: Ditching the peace | The