Recently i saw a lot of people complaining that crossfire europe is not working on windows xp , i had the same issue and here is how to solve it :
Right Click on Crossfire Eu icon ==> properties ==> Combatibilty and check the ''Turn off advanced text services for this program ''
Then click apply & ok and ur good to go
note : it may not work for all of you but worked for me and 4 friends of mine
press the thx button if it worked , dont say it