That news story is wrong about the ESA Astronauts being able to take part in NASA Manned-missions to the Moon. The only reason ESA Astronauts are allowed on the Shuttle is because it is deemed obsolete technology.
US Government National Security Laws prevent anyone other than US Astronauts from flying in the new NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), since 2002, as a part of the Constellation Programme.
This is why the ESA, since 2002, is developing it's own vehicle to get to the Moon and Mars as a part of the Aurora Programme, in collaboration with RSA (Russians), it will be based on a Russian design and called the Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS).
Out of the two designs, the ESA design appears the best one, since it will use a three part space vehicle, rather than the much heavier two part space vehicle envisioned by NASA.
Although multifunctioning the two part vehicle seems the more advanced design, the vehicle will be much heavier to launch from Earth, and much heavier to launch from the surface of the Moon and/or Mars. The NASA design will have much higher running costs per launch as a result.
For instance, a trip to the Mars would require NASA to launch three or four rockets from Earth, yet for the same mission ESA would require just two.
In addition, as India & China are also planning their own Manned-missions to the Moon, only ESA will be able to undertake a cooperative arrangement with either Space Agency for further Moon missions, or indeed a collaboration of effort to visit Mars. US Government Laws prevent NASA from such collaborations of effort and cost.
Indeed, even Canada and Japan are joining an International collaboration effort with ESA, rather than with NASA, beyond construction of the ISS.
Recent developments in the UK; which is the fourth greatest contributor of funds to ESA, means we will likely be providing funding for human spaceflight. This means proper British Astronauts for the first time (discounting Cosmonaut joke Helen Sharman).
So it's the US vs the World, would we want it any different?
