The European Parliament and the Council of the EU have reached an agreement on the regulation establishing the Space Programme for the next period, in the night between Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 February. However, this agreement is not to the European Commission's liking.
"Agreement reached overnight [...]: a small step for Parliament, a big step for Europe", welcomed the rapporteur of the text, Massimiliano Salini (EPP, Italy), on his Twitter account, stressing that the agreement will help to bring about a "strong and united Europe in space". The European Commission did not seem to share this enthusiasm, welcoming the "significant progress" on the new Space Programme, but the institution was quick to point out that "we were not yet there".
At the end of the interinstitutional meeting, the representatives of the European Commission would have expressed their dissatisfaction with the agreement reached and their right not to support this agreement. If this is the case, the decision would be taken unanimously in the Council, which would greatly complicate the adoption of the text. Reservations include governance and role sharing between the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the future EU Agency for the Space Programme.
One of the main issues is Article 31 on the role of the European Space Agency. The Commission opposes the mandatory delegation of certain tasks to ESA. The institution fears that ESA would not adapt its decision-making rules to ensure that a third country could not block a decision - particularly in view of Brexit. As a reminder, ESA is not an agency belonging to the European Union. However, the United Kingdom is a member of ESA, even after leaving the EU, with the risk of potential blockages.
Other points causing teeth to grind within the institution: the possibility of delegating to ESA would, for example, make the Commission fear that it would ultimately lose control over the management of the Space Programme. In addition, the institution would regret that the extension of the scope of the EU Space Programme Agency's activities to development activities would not be accompanied by an increase in financial resources.
The Commission's annoyance with this legislative file is known. At the November Competitiveness Council, the Commissioner for Industry and the Internal Market, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, publicly criticised Germany for its blockages on "minor" issues (see EUROPE 12150). Germany - from which ESA President Jan Wörner also is from - has always, during the negotiations, been in favour of a strong role for ESA, an essentially intergovernmental organisation, in the same way as the United Kingdom, which is about to leave the Union. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)