Brussels, 01/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - As reported in the previous issue, the Competitiveness Council of 31 May was unable to agree on future priorities for the EU space strategy (GMES, Galileo and Egnos), or on extending until 2013 EUREKA's Eurostars programme for innovative high-tech SMEs and how to introduce a Common Research Area by 2014.
In respect of Galileo, Commissioner Tajani said that the belt-tightening had paid off and the last two contracts would be signed later this month. He added that the first two satellites would be launched in October and if all went well then a further four or five new satellites would be launched before the end of the current finance period (2007-2013).
No agreement was reached, however, on the idea of extending until 2014 the current EURATOM framework-programme (with €2.5 billion in funding). Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn said the failure to agree would lead to delays in research into nuclear fusion (ITER), nuclear safety and radiology, along with important work by the Joint Research Centre on nuclear safety, training and clamping down on nuclear materials trafficking. The talks on the EURATOM legislation are likely to be concluded under the Polish Presidency, explained the Hungarian Presidency. (F.G./transl.fl)