Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of a Cooperation Agreement on a Civil Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) between the European Community and its Member States and the Kingdom of Morocco

Morocco has know-how in space technology and applications. It would like to develop the use of satellite radio-navigation on its territory and in the surrounding region (western Mediterranean and West Africa), focusing on applications specific to this region. Moroccan and European firms have had industrial cooperation links in the space sector for several years, providing a solid foundation on which to build and extend cooperation in this field which is of great importance for both parties.

Morocco, being a country that is part of the European Neighbourhood, is entitled to association to the new Framework Programme for research and innovation (Horizon 2020). Moreover, it has concluded an Agreement on Scientific and Technical cooperation with the EU. This provides Morocco with a good potential to contribute to GNSS-related research in the context of the EU research and innovation programmes.

Taking into account the agreement, the EU and Morocco are in the process of signing a Letter of Intent on cooperation in the area of GNSS, confirming their intention to promote their cooperation in this domain and the intensive use of the services provided by the European GNSS Programmes in the Mediterranean region.

The Council is therefore requested to adopt the attached proposal for a Decision on the conclusion of the agreement on behalf of the European Union.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)848: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:848:FIN

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