Greece to sign agreement on accession to ESA Convention

Paris, 22 Jun 2004

On Monday 28 June, Mr Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General, and Mr Dimitris Sioufas, Minister for Development, will sign the Agreement on Greece's accession to the ESA Convention, at the Agency's Paris Headquarters.

Greece formally applied to join ESA in September 2003. Under the Accession Agreement, it will become a full member state by December 2005 at the latest, following a transition period.

"We warmly welcome Greece to the European Space Agency", said Jean-Jacques Dordain. "We look forward to the new member state fruitfully extending its participation in various fields, including the new space programmes Europe is preparing for the future".

Greece is already participating in telecommunication programmes, Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and technology activities under a Cooperation Agreement which came into force in November 2001.

The signing ceremony will start at 12:00. Media representatives wishing to attend are kindly requested to complete/return by fax the accreditation form to ESA's Media Relations Division, on +33(0)1 53 69 7690.

For further information, please contact:

Anabelle Fonseca Colomb
ESA, International Relations
Tel: +33(0)1 53 69 7238

European Space Agency
http:///www.esa.int/export/esaCP/index.html
Item source: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEM6DG3V QUD_index_0.html