Brussels, 06/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - In a report published on Thursday 6 February, the European Commission highlighted the importance of developing closer ties between the EU and the European Space Agency. It also assessed a variety of different scenarios in the report. The ESA is responsible for space research and infrastructure development and is an essential undertaking for ensuring the appropriate development of the Galileo and Copernicus programmes. European funding in this area will also continue to increase until the end of the decade. The most effective option for bringing the EU and the ESA closer together would be to set up a European pillar within the ESA, even at a physical level, which would have joint services working for the ESA's intergovernmental activities, without, however, necessarily determining how they operate. Such a possibility still needs to be analysed with the ESA in order to assess the legal, technical and human resources implications for the ESA. A review of the common framework agreement may also be examined at the same time. These are the recommendations the Commission is putting forward to ensure as efficient a working environment as possible for the EU and ESA. The recommendations will form the basis of the ministerial discussion on the subject during the Competitiveness Council on 21 February next. (MD/transl.fl)