The space strategy for Europe was welcomed by the vast majority of MEPs on the European Parliament’s industry, research and energy committee (ITRE) during a debate with Industry Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska and European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič on Wednesday 9 November, but several MEPs pointed out the lack of effective communication on the space strategy and policy vis-à-vis citizens.
Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (ALDE, the Netherlands) was the most assertive, criticising the fact the strategy is not a "sexy document" and saying there is a need to communicate effectively on the matter if one wants to attract investors. She said communication about the space sector needs to be boosted for the general public, an argument also made by other MEPs, such as Paul Rübig (EPP, Austria) and Angelika Niebler (EPP, Germany).
The question of use of flagship space programmes piloted by the EU was addressed by a number of MEPs calling for the manufacture as soon as possible of chipsets compatible with Galileo data. This is a major part of the strategy (see EUROPE 11632, 11540) which, in the first section of the first paragraph, is devoted to boosting the positive impact of the space sector for European society and economy ("Maximising the benefits of space for society and the EU economy").
Responding to current events, several MEPs talked about the impact of the election of Donald Trump to the White House. Dan Nica (S&D, Romania), for example, said it was absolutely vital to preserve and reinforce European autonomy in the space domain. Space diplomacy was brought up a number of times, for example by Flavio Zanonato (S&D, Italy), who asked how it could be boosted. Adam Gierek (S&D, Poland) expressed concern about cooperation with Russia. The question of how relations would work with the United Kingdom once Brexit has been put into force were raised by Evžen Tošenovský (ECR, the Czech Republic), who said the EU had to have a strong partnership with the UK.
Summing up, Šefčovič stressed the role of cooperation between the European Parliament and the European Commission in order to strengthen communication with citizens. Bieńkowska admitted the fact that citizens know little about the space policy and its benefits to daily life. She regretted this, pointing out that €1 invested in the space sector generates €7 for the economy. The relative ignorance of European companies and businessmen was one of the major concerns of member states at a Council meeting in May (see EUROPE 11560).
The European Space Agency (ESA) will introduce itself at the ITRE meeting on 28 and 29 November 2016 and discuss implementation of the space strategy. At a ministerial meeting in the first fortnight of December, ESA will unveil its own space strategy. (Original version in French byPascal Hansens)