Andrew Yee
June 11th 05, 05:00 PM
European Space Agency
Press Release No. 29-2005
Paris, France 7 June 2005
Further steps towards a European space policy
The second meeting of the Space Council -- concomitant meeting of the
ESA Council at ministerial level and of the European Union Competitiveness
Council (Internal Market/Industry/Research) -- was held at the Kiem
Conference Centre in Luxembourg today.
In consultation with private and public stakeholders, the Space Council is
working on the definition of a coherent space policy and associated programmes,
covering the activities of the EU, ESA and their Member States. The objective is
to endorse, at the third Space Council meeting planned for November this year,
a European space policy and European space programme for the period to
2013.
The orientations for a European space programme are based on the Framework
Agreement between the European Community and ESA and on the ESA
Convention. At this second meeting, the Space Council confirmed that the
European space policy should cover mainly the following:
* a European space strategy,
* a European space programme matching the strategy and reflecting associated
costs and funding sources,
* a commitment by the main contributors as to their roles and responsibilities,
* the key principles of implementation.
The aim of the strategy is to develop increasingly advanced space systems
according to user needs. All the benefits derived from associated services
will have to be shared by all. The EU will have to identify user needs and build
a political will around them. ESA and its Member and Cooperating States will
develop future space technologies and systems and pursue excellence in
space-based scientific research.
Priorities within the European space programme see the EU focusing on
space-based applications to contribute to the achievement of its policies,
particularly Galileo and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security
programme (GMES). ESA will focus on space exploration and on the basic
tools on which the exploitation and exploration of space each depend. Securing
guaranteed access to space through a complete, competitive family of launchers,
pursuing excellence in space science, and exploiting its know-how in the
exploration of the planetary system and in developing technologies to maintain
a competitive space sector will be among ESA's main tasks.
The investments needed for these priorities for the EU, ESA and Member States
will be identified in the coming months and go through each organisation's normal
budgetary and programmatic approval procedures. By coordinating efforts, the
players will ensure that new investments bring additional outcomes. Financing
sources for space-related activities for the EU are the Seventh Framework
Programme of research, technology and development, the trans-European
network programme, and the competitiveness and innovation programme. ESA
draws on Member States' contributions to mandatory and optional programmes.
EU space-related programmes will be managed in line with an efficiency criterion,
in accordance with the Framework Agreement, and will benefit from ESA's technical
and management experience, in cooperation with the relevant agencies and entities
in Europe. ESA programmes will be managed in line with its Convention. Decisions
on future programmes taken at ESA's ministerial Council meeting in December this
year, and discussions on future EU financial prospects, will make it possible to
determine whether the programme is consistent with the ambitions of the European
space policy.
The second meeting of the Space Council was chaired jointly by Ms Edelgard
Bulmahn, German Minister for Education and Research and current Chair of the
ESA Council at ministerial level, and Mr Francois Biltgen, Minister for Labour and
Employment, Minister for Culture, Higher Education and Research in Luxembourg,
and current Chair of the EU Competitiveness Council. The meeting was also
attended by Mr Gunter Verheugen, European Commission Vice-President, in
charge of enterprise, industry, competitiveness and space matters and by Mr
Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency.
German Minister Edelgard Bulmahn said: "Today we are sending an important
signal: ESA and EU are moving ahead on their way to put space at the service of
the European citizen and the Policies of the EU. Building on the long-standing
experience of ESA, the European Space Programme will enable Europe to face
the political, economical and scientific challenges of tomorrow."
Luxembourg Minister Francois Biltgen said: "By agreeing on essential elements
of the future European space policy, we have today taken a considerable step
forward towards establishing a joint European space programme. Thus, the
groundwork has been laid for the third Space Council planned for end-2005
to endorse a European space policy and programme."
Commission Vice-President Gunter Verheugen stated : "I am grateful for the full
support the Space Council has given the Commission today. We will now work
full speed ahead and complete our proposal for a European space policy and
programme. This will identify programme priorities for future European
development of space applications."
ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain said: "ESA has just turned 30.
Thanks to the continuous support of its Member States, it has grown to make
the European space sector one of the foremost competitors in the world and
at the same time has become a respected partner. Now the European space
policy is being integrated within the wider ambitions of Europe and space is
set to become a much larger and more integrated undertaking in our future.
ESA is prepared to adapt in order to take on an even greater role for Europe."
Background
The Space Council was established in order to coordinate and facilitate
cooperative activities between the European Community and ESA through
their Framework Agreement, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into
force in May 2004.
The first Space Council meeting took place in Brussels on 25 November 2004.
The EC-ESA Framework Agreement has two main aims. The first is the coherent,
gradual 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. ESA is acting de facto EU
implementing agency.
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 EC-ESA
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 light of the overall
recommendations set out in the White Paper on Space, 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 EC-ESA initiatives and takes the
Framework Agreement as its basis for implementation.
For further information, please contact:
Barbara Dufner
Spokesperson for Minister Edelgard Bulmahn
Federal Ministry for Education and Research, Berlin
Tel.: +49 1888 57 5175
Pierre Decker
Ministry for Culture, High Education and Research
Research and Innovation Department
Tel.: +352.478.5216
Gregor Kreuzhuber
Spokesman for Commission Vice-President Gunter Verheugen
Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, in charge of competitiveness
and space matters
Tel.: + 32 2 296 65 65
Franco Bonacina
Spokesman for ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain
Tel.: + 33 (0)1 53 69 71 55
Related articles
* First ever 'Space Council' paves the way for a European space programme
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMGQZWJD1E_index_0.html
Related links
* European Union
http://europe.eu.int/
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMJ0Z0DU8E_index_1.html ]
Press Release No. 29-2005
Paris, France 7 June 2005
Further steps towards a European space policy
The second meeting of the Space Council -- concomitant meeting of the
ESA Council at ministerial level and of the European Union Competitiveness
Council (Internal Market/Industry/Research) -- was held at the Kiem
Conference Centre in Luxembourg today.
In consultation with private and public stakeholders, the Space Council is
working on the definition of a coherent space policy and associated programmes,
covering the activities of the EU, ESA and their Member States. The objective is
to endorse, at the third Space Council meeting planned for November this year,
a European space policy and European space programme for the period to
2013.
The orientations for a European space programme are based on the Framework
Agreement between the European Community and ESA and on the ESA
Convention. At this second meeting, the Space Council confirmed that the
European space policy should cover mainly the following:
* a European space strategy,
* a European space programme matching the strategy and reflecting associated
costs and funding sources,
* a commitment by the main contributors as to their roles and responsibilities,
* the key principles of implementation.
The aim of the strategy is to develop increasingly advanced space systems
according to user needs. All the benefits derived from associated services
will have to be shared by all. The EU will have to identify user needs and build
a political will around them. ESA and its Member and Cooperating States will
develop future space technologies and systems and pursue excellence in
space-based scientific research.
Priorities within the European space programme see the EU focusing on
space-based applications to contribute to the achievement of its policies,
particularly Galileo and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security
programme (GMES). ESA will focus on space exploration and on the basic
tools on which the exploitation and exploration of space each depend. Securing
guaranteed access to space through a complete, competitive family of launchers,
pursuing excellence in space science, and exploiting its know-how in the
exploration of the planetary system and in developing technologies to maintain
a competitive space sector will be among ESA's main tasks.
The investments needed for these priorities for the EU, ESA and Member States
will be identified in the coming months and go through each organisation's normal
budgetary and programmatic approval procedures. By coordinating efforts, the
players will ensure that new investments bring additional outcomes. Financing
sources for space-related activities for the EU are the Seventh Framework
Programme of research, technology and development, the trans-European
network programme, and the competitiveness and innovation programme. ESA
draws on Member States' contributions to mandatory and optional programmes.
EU space-related programmes will be managed in line with an efficiency criterion,
in accordance with the Framework Agreement, and will benefit from ESA's technical
and management experience, in cooperation with the relevant agencies and entities
in Europe. ESA programmes will be managed in line with its Convention. Decisions
on future programmes taken at ESA's ministerial Council meeting in December this
year, and discussions on future EU financial prospects, will make it possible to
determine whether the programme is consistent with the ambitions of the European
space policy.
The second meeting of the Space Council was chaired jointly by Ms Edelgard
Bulmahn, German Minister for Education and Research and current Chair of the
ESA Council at ministerial level, and Mr Francois Biltgen, Minister for Labour and
Employment, Minister for Culture, Higher Education and Research in Luxembourg,
and current Chair of the EU Competitiveness Council. The meeting was also
attended by Mr Gunter Verheugen, European Commission Vice-President, in
charge of enterprise, industry, competitiveness and space matters and by Mr
Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency.
German Minister Edelgard Bulmahn said: "Today we are sending an important
signal: ESA and EU are moving ahead on their way to put space at the service of
the European citizen and the Policies of the EU. Building on the long-standing
experience of ESA, the European Space Programme will enable Europe to face
the political, economical and scientific challenges of tomorrow."
Luxembourg Minister Francois Biltgen said: "By agreeing on essential elements
of the future European space policy, we have today taken a considerable step
forward towards establishing a joint European space programme. Thus, the
groundwork has been laid for the third Space Council planned for end-2005
to endorse a European space policy and programme."
Commission Vice-President Gunter Verheugen stated : "I am grateful for the full
support the Space Council has given the Commission today. We will now work
full speed ahead and complete our proposal for a European space policy and
programme. This will identify programme priorities for future European
development of space applications."
ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain said: "ESA has just turned 30.
Thanks to the continuous support of its Member States, it has grown to make
the European space sector one of the foremost competitors in the world and
at the same time has become a respected partner. Now the European space
policy is being integrated within the wider ambitions of Europe and space is
set to become a much larger and more integrated undertaking in our future.
ESA is prepared to adapt in order to take on an even greater role for Europe."
Background
The Space Council was established in order to coordinate and facilitate
cooperative activities between the European Community and ESA through
their Framework Agreement, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into
force in May 2004.
The first Space Council meeting took place in Brussels on 25 November 2004.
The EC-ESA Framework Agreement has two main aims. The first is the coherent,
gradual 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. ESA is acting de facto EU
implementing agency.
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 EC-ESA
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 light of the overall
recommendations set out in the White Paper on Space, 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 EC-ESA initiatives and takes the
Framework Agreement as its basis for implementation.
For further information, please contact:
Barbara Dufner
Spokesperson for Minister Edelgard Bulmahn
Federal Ministry for Education and Research, Berlin
Tel.: +49 1888 57 5175
Pierre Decker
Ministry for Culture, High Education and Research
Research and Innovation Department
Tel.: +352.478.5216
Gregor Kreuzhuber
Spokesman for Commission Vice-President Gunter Verheugen
Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, in charge of competitiveness
and space matters
Tel.: + 32 2 296 65 65
Franco Bonacina
Spokesman for ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain
Tel.: + 33 (0)1 53 69 71 55
Related articles
* First ever 'Space Council' paves the way for a European space programme
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMGQZWJD1E_index_0.html
Related links
* European Union
http://europe.eu.int/
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMJ0Z0DU8E_index_1.html ]