Report from the Commission. Progress report on establishing appropriate relations between the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA)

The relations between the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA) have been the subject of longstanding political discussions, one practical result of which has been the EU/ESA Framework Agreement in force since May 2004. The Lisbon Treaty has given a new impetus to these discussions by strengthening the political dimension of space matters in the EU and providing that the EU “shall establish any appropriate relations with the European Space Agency”.

The European Commission has addressed this issue in two subsequent communications. In its April 2011 communication “Towards a space strategy for the EU that benefits its citizens” the Commission expressed the view that ESA “should continue to develop into an organisation with an intergovernmental and an EU dimension in which military and civil programmes can coexist”, and should “pursue closer ties with the EU and, according to need, will continue to have management structures geared solely towards EU programmes”.

And in the communication on “Establishing appropriate relations between the EU and ESA” adopted by the Commission in November 2012, it is stated that “The need for greater operational efficiency, symmetry in defence and security matters, political coordination and accountability can only be resolved, in the long term, through the rapprochement of ESA towards the European Union. The Commission considers that a clear target date should be set between 2020 and 2025 for this long term objective”.

The Council of the EU in its conclusions of 18 February 2013 recognised that there may be a need to “review and enhance the functioning of the relationship between the EU and ESA in view of the changed political context, the increasing role of the EU in the space domain, competitiveness challenges faced by the space sector and the growing importance of space activities for society”. The Council also recognised that "the Framework Agreement and its governance elements may, in its present form no longer provide the most appropriate framework with which to ensure an efficient and effective European space policy that fully utilises in a coherent manner the respective competencies of both the EU and ESA."

The Council invited “the European Commission to work together with the Director General of ESA and in close cooperation with the respective EU and ESA Member States… to ensure coherence, convergence and complementarity with a view to preparing common proposals on the further evolution of EU/ESA relations on the basis of common analysis, for decision by the respective bodies by 2014”.

It is against this background that the Commission has conducted a preliminary assessment of four options for the evolution of the EU-ESA relations and their likely impact in terms of costs, benefits and institutional and legal implications. This report presents the current status of reflections within the Commission and possible next steps. The report is the first stage in continuing open and transparent processes of analyses and reflection, and of discussions with Member States and with the Director-General of ESA, which should lead towards coherent and shared conclusions between the EU, ESA and Member States towards the end of 2014, early 2015. Much of the preliminary assessment presented in this progress report builds on the results of an external technical study, which has provided some useful elements of analysis.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)56: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:056:FIN

ESO: Background information: Website: European Space Agency http://www.europeansources.info/record/website-european-space-agency/

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