First “Space Council” to set course towards
a European Space Programme
Ministers in charge of space affairs and those responsible
for the internal market, industry and research meet in Brussels on Thursday
25 November for the first “Space Council”, a joint and concomitant
meeting of the ESA Council at ministerial level and the EU Competitiveness
Council.
This historic event marks the first step towards the development and
definition of an overall European space policy and its implementation
programme. A progress report on the basis of a position paper and an exchange
of views will be the core of the Council’s agenda.
The meeting will be chaired jointly by Mrs Edelgard Buhlman, German Minister
for Education and Research and current chair of the ESA Council at ministerial
level, and by Mr Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs
and current chair of the EU Competitiveness Council.
At the meeting, the European Commission and ESA Executive will be represented
by Vice-President Mr. Günther Verheugen, Commissioner for Enterprise
and Industry, in charge of competitiveness and space matters, and Mr.
Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General.
These “Space Council” meetings have been set up for the purpose
of coordinating and facilitating cooperative activities between the European
Community and ESA through their Framework Agreement which was adopted
in 2003 and entered into force in May this year.
The Framework Agreement has two main aims. The first is the coherent
and progressive development of an overall European space policy, which
will specifically seek to link demand for services and applications using
space systems in support of EU policies with the supply through ESA of
space systems and infrastructures necessary to meet that demand.
The second aim of the Agreement is to establish a common basis and appropriate
practical arrangements for efficient and mutually beneficial cooperation
between ESA and the European Community, fully respecting the institutional
and operational frameworks of each institution, to facilitate the setting
up of joint initiatives and to provide a stable framework for ESA-EC cooperation
to benefit all European citizens.
Over the last three years, the EU and ESA have worked together to outline
a European space policy that identifies and prioritises objectives for
space. The European space programme, expected to be endorsed by a Space
Council session at the end of 2005, will constitute a common platform
including all activities and measures to be undertaken by the EC, ESA
and other stakeholders in order to achieve the objectives set by the European
space policy.
The European space programme will be drawn up in the light of the recommendations
set out in the White Paper on Space (*) with a view to being ready for
implementation by the beginning of 2007.
(*) The White Paper on Space is an action plan adopted
by the European Commission in November 2003 for implementing an enlarged
European space policy. Drafted in cooperation with ESA, the White Paper
includes proposals for joint ESA-EC initiatives and takes the Framework
Agreement as its basis for implementation.
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