Brussels, 07/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - The EU's relations with the European Space Agency (ESA) will be on the agenda of the Competitiveness Council on research, innovation and space on Tuesday 11 December. The EU27 ministers will discuss a Commission report “Establishing appropriate relations between the EU and the ESA.” The ESA budget, negotiated by its 20 member countries, will be €10 billion for 2013-2017, as was announced at the end of an ESA ministerial meeting in Naples in November, where it was decided to change the Ariane 5 launcher to help it deal with competitors. The new launcher will be called Ariane 5 ME. Research for the launch of Ariane 6 post-2020 will continue to receive funding to ensure as many common functionalities as possble between Ariane 5 ME and Ariane 6. (MD/transl.fl)