Brussels, 12/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - With the European Space Agency (ESA) growing, confirming Poland as its 20th member country, its director has promised changes to the Agency's activities, which will be the subject of lively discussions at its forthcoming ministerial Council in November. The ESA also has its sights set on the Mediterranean, creating a specific programme with the European Investment Bank (EIB).
This Thursday, the director-general of the ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain, will sign off Warsaw's accession to the European agency. Romania is set to become the 21st member of the ESA. Agreements are now in place between the ESA and the EU27. “We have no option but to change, in order to be relevant to today's world, the current market and our competitors”, Dordain however told Tuesday's “Berlin Air Show” conference. This development will be central to the ministerial meeting of the ESA in Italy on 20 and 21 November. The main point of the agenda will be the future of Arianespace and the agency's budget. On Monday 10 September, an agreement called 'Space for the Mediterranean Initiative', also known as 'Space for Med', was also signed between the ESA and the EIB, with the aim of plugging the digital divide and promoting economic growth in the Mediterranean region. (FB-MD/transl.fl)