His successful meetings in Paris and Berlin led to the most unified declaration on Iraq since last winter's damaging split in the Security Council.

Nato has approved a plan to send defensive equipment to Turkey, after a compromise that papered over a damaging split in the military alliance's Iraq policy.

Polls suggest that the party can win the presidential election next year, too, but only if the party can avoid a damaging split.

One reason for this would have been the difficult calculation of how damaging the inevitable split in Ireland would be if such a proposal was accepted.

A damaging split opened when France threatened to forge ahead with core groups of nations to achieve a closer political union.

Institutionally, it says heaps about the damaging split in this country between between art education on the one hand and real education on the other.

The result could surely be a damaging split between the different types of courses, with responsibility for the eligible areas potentially fragmented between the further education college, sixth form colleges and the remainder.

Secondly, if the plans to deepen and enlarge the EU are achieved, this will give rise to a damaging two-way split in the Baltic region in which Russia will become isolated.

He retreated from the American position on medical patent rules to defuse a damaging split between North and South countries, while allowing negotiations on antidumping despite strong opposition from the steel and semiconductor industries.

The European Union has suffered a very damaging split after Mr Cameron used the British veto to block eurozone treaty change after France and Germany opposed "safeguards" to protect Britain's economy.