There is hardly any reason to be optimistic about the European Union’s last summit in response to the sight of Russian tanks trundling around Europe’s backyard (“Unity is Strength,” August 30, 2008). As you point out, there are many cogent reasons why the Union finds it hard to come together against Russia: neither the benefits nor the costs of disunity fall equally on the twenty-seven countries in the club. Some of them, such as Sweden and Portugal, barely consume any Russian oil or gas. The summit is thus likely to make the disunity even more palpable than heretofore. Called hastily by the current French presidency, which tends to be a bit more histrionic than usual, it will undoubtedly be but another nail in the Union’s coffin. And no-one will enjoy the pointless spectacle more than Putin and Medvedev, if the latter ought to be mentioned in this connection at all.