Space policy of the European Union
Overview
European Space Policy
A formal European Space Policy was established on 22 May 2007 when a joint and concomitant meeting at ministerial level of the Council of the European Union and the Council of the European Space Agency adopted a Resolution on the European Space Policy...
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The Space policy of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
is not currently agreed, though it was expected to be released before Summer 2007. Currently each member state pursues their own national space policy, though often co-ordinating through the independent European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
(ESA). Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen
Günter Verheugen
-Erler:At around the same time, photographs appeared showing him holidaying with Petra Erler, the head of his private office. A Commission spokesman backed him by saying "the private holidays of Vice President Verheugen in Lithuania this summer did not violate the rules applicable to members of the...
has stated that even though the EU is "a world leader in the technology, it is being put on the defensive by the US and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and that it only has about a 10 year technological advantage on China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, which are racing to catch up."
A communication outlining the policy was released on 26 April 2007 which set out orientations for;
- Coordinating more effective civil space programmes between ESA, EU and their respective Member States to ensure value for money and eliminate unnecessary duplication, thus meeting shared European needs.
- Developing and exploiting European space applications such as GALILEO and GMES (Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security) and satellite communication applications.
- Preserving EU autonomous access to space.
- Increasing synergy between defence and civil space programmes and technologies and pursue, in particular, interoperability of civil/military systems.
- Ensuring that space policy is coherent with, and supports the EU's external relationships.
The European Union has already started work on a project to create the Galileo positioning system, to break dependence on the US GPS system.
