Space

This is an important moment in the history of Europe. With the future Constitutional Treaty now under discussion the Union will enter a new and more political phase aiming at a closer relationship with its citizens.

This is also an important moment in the history of Europes activities in space. The time has come to place them on the Unions political agenda at the heart of the European construction process by putting space applications linked to inspirational goals at the service of the enlarged Europe and of its citizens.

After 40 years of solid European achievement in the development of space sciences, technologies and applications, the Commission proposes in this White Paper to make a qualitative leap forward in the continents ambitions for, and organisation of, this key sector.

The Commission is convinced of the essential support that space technologies can bring to the Unions policies and objectives and also of their tremendous social, economic, and commercial potential. It recommends: (i) putting additional efforts into a variety of space infrastructures and applications, which will make unique contributions to satisfy the needs of the citizens and to respond to the Unions political objectives, (ii) consolidating the existing scientific and technical basis of space activities. It also urges a change of the governance paradigm so as to give the Union new responsibilities for driving, funding and co-ordinating activities within an extended Space Policy.

The European Space Agency (ESA), Member States and their national space agencies, research centres, together with industry, all deserve the credit for having established Europe as a key player in space. The White Paper is a call to action to these stakeholders to mobilise behind new ambitious goals. It also seeks to spur the European space industry to rise to new challenges. The policy objective is a more secure and predictable framework that will help companies to plan and invest and to build larger share of commercial and institutional markets.

These proposals, which are based on detailed analysis, take into account the outcome of the intensive consultations carried out on the issues raised in the Green Paper on Space Policy published in January 2003. Separate conferences and workshops were organised in ten European capitals and the Commission is grateful to those who sent in the several hundred submissions.

There is a strong will in Europe to put our scientific talents, our technologies and our entrepreneurial skills in the space sector at the service of Europe and its citizens. This White Paper explains why we should do so and how we should do it. On some of the issues addressed, precise conclusions cannot yet be identified, but mechanisms and milestones to pursue them are set.

The White Paper aims to become a point of reference: it provides an Action Plan (European Space Programme) including a list of recommended actions for the implementation of the European Space Policy. Its success will be measured by the benefits the European Union, its citizens and the space sector derive from this endeavour.