Europe will in future make more use of space activities in order to reach its political objectives.
For this purpose, 29 European countries today adopted a resolution on the European Space Policy on the occasion of the 4th Space Council.
Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy and Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Mr. Peter Hintze, welcomed the adoption of the resolution and declared: "The European Space Policy has for the first time created a common political framework for space activities in Europe. During the German EU presidency, all major stakeholders - the European Space Agency ESA, the EU and their Member States - have agreed on common goals and priorities and a plan for the implementation of the activities. Through the European Space Policy, the citizens of Europe can even to a greater extent benefit from Europe's capabilities in the space sector.
Making use of space activities for the political goals of Europe has priority, especially in the fields of environmental monitoring, communications, traffic and civil security. Europe will also develop a common strategy for its international space relations."
The resolution welcomes the European Space Policy that had been presented by the European Commission and ESA on 26 April. The European Space Policy shows that Europe is determined to strengthen its position vis-à-vis its global competitors through space activities. Europe intends to further federate its strengths in order to consolidate its leading role in the fields of science and technology and further improve the competitiveness of its industry.
The Space Council, which unites all Member States of the European Union and of the European Space Agency ESA, convened under the joint German EU Presidency and the Dutch ESA Presidency.
Mr. Hintze especially emphasized the role of ESA for the European space activities: "ESA must continue to play the central role as space agency for Europe. The industrial policy of ESA is one of the reasons for the fact that Europe's space industry is performing particularly well and is highly competitive. There is no better partner for the EU and the European states in the field of space activities."
