Marc-André Lagrange et Thierry Vircoulon, 

European Aid Ministers qualified 2008 as 'crucial for the development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDO)'. So, the French presidency of the EU council devotes a part of its activities to Aid cooperation, mostly based on initiatives launched by Germany in 2007. In this article, both authors firstly compare Aid systems and their natures, and then explain why French and German approaches are often similar. Drawing up a panorama of these aid policies, also with common policies and projects, the authors would like to present common challenges that France and Germany are facing. Thus, they are looking for new leads to develop French-German cooperation in the field of Development.

This article outlines the developments in Russian-American cooperation in the area of higher education since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It reveals the fundamental problems that have arisen in this partnership and draws conclusions about the necessity of moving away from technical aid towards a new model of cooperation between Russia and the United States in this sphere. It makes practical recommendations for the more effective integration of Russian universities into the global educational space.

This article is illustrative of the way of thinking among young Chinese economists who try to comprehend all the constraints that bear upon China's development today.

In Europe and to a lesser extent in the rest of the world, the last decades have been characterized by two concomitant phenomena : the increasing cost of armament technology which has become always more sophisticated as well as the reduction in the strength of national armed forces and in their budget. In that context of restrictions, the implementation of armament programs in a strictly national framework appears to be more and more problematic. Resorting to co-operation and harmonizing the needs of the different armed forces turns out to be a "pressing necessity" or at least a pragmatic solution to many recurring difficulties.

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is at a crossroads. Over the course of France's EU Presidency the Union of the Mediterranean will be launched and the Polish-Swedish proposal for an "Eastern Partnership" will be elaborated upon. These initiatives challenge the ENP and cast doubt over the EU's ability to keep the southern and eastern neighbourhoods together under one roof. This paper argues that whilst the EU should maintain its "balanced approach" to its neighbourhood, it should at the same time develop more differentiation within ENP, which will strengthen the policy. To this end, the EU should recognise, more sincerely and practically, the European aspirations of the eastern neighbours by stating explicitly that ENP is not an end in itself, but rather a route to possible membership.

The Olympic Games are meant to embody the climax of the peaceful emergence that the People's Republic of China has undertaken for nearly thirty years.