Meeting of ministers for space affairs, Kourou (French Guiana)
Jupiter command room of the Guyana space centre
© Ministère de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche
- from: 21.07.2008
- to: 22.07.2008
- In: Kourou (French Guiana)
This meeting is a continuation of the 4th Space Council (composed of the Competitiveness Council and the ministerial council of the European Space Agency) which adopted the ‘European Space Policy’ on 22 May 2007. The aim of this was to get the European countries to conduct a common policy with regard to space instead of continuing to join forces for each new programme (e.g. the Ariane rocket, meteorological and telecommunications satellites, the Automated Transfer Vehicle, Columbus laboratory, etc.).
This informal meeting of European space ministers should be an opportunity for the EU to move forward as a major player in space policy, for enhancing the two flagship programmes of the European Union, namely the Galileo geo-positioning programme and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme, and for proposing new initiatives.
In the course of their meeting on 21 July, the ministers will discuss:
• Space and climate change: space’s contribution to adapting to and combating climate change through the continuation of the GMES programme.
• Space and security: space’s contribution to Europe’s security, space surveillance; the synergies between civil and military space activities.
• Space and competitiveness: space’s contribution to the European strategy for competitiveness, growth and employment.
• Exploration: the European Union’s place in an international context and its strategy for cooperation.
In the final plenary session on Tuesday 22 July, the ministers will draw conclusions from discussions held in workshops. Valérie Pécresse will hold a press conference at the end of this meeting at 09:35 (which will be broadcast live on the French Presidency’s website at 14:35 Central European Time) to present the main conclusions of the meeting and the next steps to be taken under the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Outcome of the meeting of ministers for space affairs, Kourou - French Guiana (Report)
Video “En route for space“
- Sources: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
- Updated: 17.12.2008
