Although the EU Council and the European Parliament announced on Wednesday 27 February a partial provisional agreement on the regulation establishing the EU's space programme for 2020-2021, the Commission did not openly support the agreement, provoking the wrath of Parliament, which on Thursday 28 February issued a strong statement on social media.
The rapporteur, Massimiliano Salini (EPP, Italy), as well as the shadow rapporteurs (Constanze Krehl, Evžen Tošenovský, Caroline Nagtegaal, Davor Skrlec, Jaromir Kohlicek, Dario Tamburrano) said they were "amazed at the Commission's behaviour, which denies the agreements democratically reached in the trilogue". "We are surprised by the attitude of the European Commission, which decided to change the cards on the table by distorting the position held until the very last meeting and to adopt a hostile attitude not in line with the work done until that moment", the parliamentarians regret.
For them, the "blocking" position means that the European Union would lose its "leading role in the space industry" and jeopardise a sector that has some 230,000 jobs and generates €62 billion.
For MEPs, the Commission's position seems inexplicable, given that the agreement reached “could rather ensure the continuity of EU investment in the space sector”. “For these reasons, as MEPs rapporteur and shadow rapporteurs on the Space Programme we strongly ask the European Commission to respect the agreement that was democratically negotiated in order to give Europe the leadership in space it deserves", write the signatories.
The Chairman of the ITRE Committee and former President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, is also reported to have expressed his dissatisfaction.
Sub-delegation. The issue of sub-delegation (see EUROPE 12203) of the future EU Space Programme Agency (currently the GSA) to other entities and Member States was, according to several sources, the real blocking point at the last meeting. The Commission reportedly indicated that the text adopted would not be in line with the Meroni case, which prohibits any encroachment by one institution on the powers attributed to another.
According to two sources, the Commission's behaviour remains unexplainable, as sub-delegation has never been a real problem throughout the negotiations. This point would have become a problem for the Commission only on the eve of the final trilogue. The argument put forward by the Commission would not stand up, according to these sources, both of which add that the legal services of the Council and Parliament have never had any problems with this issue.
In the eyes of several sources, the problem is said to stem from political tension within the European Commission, in particular between DG BUDG and DG GROW. "The proximity of ESA Director General Jan Wörner, who is fiercely opposed to the Regulation, and Budget Commissioner [Günther] Oettinger, could be an explanation for the latter's involvement in the case", says a source close to the case.
The situation is rather unprecedented and there is doubt as to the will of the European Commission and the next steps. "When it is a provisional agreement, it is a provisional agreement, the process does not end there, the two chambers still have to formally adopt their position", Lucia Caudet, the European Commission's spokesperson for Industry and the Internal Market, told EUROPE. "Trilogues are an informal way to reach a common agreement; therefore, we can, of course, continue our contacts in an even more informal way before the process in both institutions is concluded", added Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva.
The Commission can either not support the agreement, and therefore the Council must adopt the text unanimously – which greatly complicates its adoption – or withdraw it. This is, in the opinion of some, very unlikely. It could also "let it happen" and wait for the continuation of negotiations with the future European Parliament, for adoption at second reading.
Ambassadors to the EU (Committee of Permanent Representatives – Coreper) supported the agreement on Wednesday 27 February, according to several sources. The European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is expected to vote on the agreement at its meeting at the end of March and then submit it to the plenary vote during the April session. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)