Coreper Report to the Competitiveness Council on Preparations for the Second "Space Council" and for the Future European Space Programme (link)

Brussels, May 2005

Full text of Document 9440/05
Suite of documents 9440/05

Subject: Space policy
­ Preparation of the second "Space Council" of 7 June 2005
­ Approval of the orientations concerning the preparation of the future European Space Programme

1. It is recalled that the Framework Agreement between the European Community and the European Space Agency (ESA) entered into force on 28 May 2004. This agreement provides a common basis for the coherent and progressive development of an overall European Space Policy and establishes under Article 8 regular joint and concomitant meetings of the Council of the European Union and of the Council of ESA at ministerial level, the "Space Council", for coordinating and facilitating cooperative activities.

2. The first session of the "Space Council" took place on 25 November 2004 and in the light of its orientations, the work of the joint preparatory and consultative bodies established by the EC-ESA Framework Agreement, namely the EC-ESA Joint Secretariat, the European Space Policy Expert Group, and the High Level Space Policy Group has continued their work on addressing the preliminary elements of the future European Space Programme.

3. The state of progress is documented in a Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament and originally drawn up by the Joint Secretariat entitled "European Space Policy: preliminary elements" 1. This will also constitute a reference document for the "Space Council" deliberations.

4. The agenda of the second "Space Council" on 7 June foresees a general exchange of views of Ministers on the further definition of European Space Policy and the European Space Programme (ESP). To this end, the main task of the second "Space Council" will be to give a clear political signal on the second set of orientations (see Annex) relating to the future

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