  Recent developments on the understanding of low energy reactions are
highlighted. Emphasis is given to the CDCC framework where the breakup channels
of the projectile are included explicitly. Properties of the breakup couplings
are presented. Comments are given with regard to the separation between the
nuclear and the Coulomb contributions to breakup cross sections as well as the
dependence on the optical potentials. A discussion on the sensitivity of the
CDCC basis is discussed, by comparing pure breakup results with transfer to the
continuum calculations. Finally, some remaining controversies show the need to
go beyond the single particle picture for the projectile.
