The latest and arguably worst of a long line of bad Greek governments bluffed its way right up to edge of a Grexit from the European Union and then folded like a cheap chair on a Peloponnese beach. Then it accepted more EU-imposed austerity for further debt extensions. There is little reason to expect this latest bandaid to stop Greece’s economic haemorrhaging or fix the EU’s deep economic and political defects. Instead, writes Andrew MacDougall, it merely puts off an inevitable day of reckoning. And with the U.K. heading toward a referendum on leaving the EU, and the Kremlin cheering on disintegration, that day looks more ominous for European unity than ever.

British Conservatives often grumble about meddlesome Eurocrats reaching ever further into the UK’s political, economic and legal affairs. After big gains by British nationalists in recent EU elections, Tory Prime Minister David Cameron has tilted away from Europe with a cabinet shuffle and a promised referendum on withdrawal from the Eurozone. The problem is, Britain needs European capital and markets to keep its economy humming. If Cameron puts that at risk, he’ll lose his longest, strongest political suit, and quite possibly the 2015 election. Andrew MacDougall explains…