The heads of large European countries must launch a vision for a larger Europe, beyond debates on the enlargement of the European Union. Helped by the G20 over which he will soon be presiding, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has the possibility to launch important geopolitical initiatives, moving on from controversies over the Roma and Turkey.

Sarkozy's meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Deauville, France, on Oct. 19 acts as a reminder of the usefulness of Euro-Russian cooperation going beyond security issues.

Still, due to Western neglect, Turkey and Ukraine are at risk of aiming eastwards: the ex-Ottoman Empire for the former, Moscow for the latter. As for Russia, in relative decline and under Chinese pressure, it is rediscovering its pan-European vocation, either attempting a neo-Soviet customs union or a pan-European strategy, like before 1917.

Definitely, the two Slavic countries could also get closer to the EU. In 2011, under the Polish presidency, the European Union will certainly associate itself with Ukraine, hopefully indicating a "European perspective" - a phrase that means close membership in the 27-nation bloc. In 2012, the elected Russian president will probably quit post-imperial nationalism in favour of a kind of Euro-realism.