MEPs supported by a very large majority (560 votes in favour, 63 against, 32 abstentions) on Wednesday 17 April, the agreement reached at the end of February with the EU Council on the regulation establishing a 2021-2027 space programme.
The co-legislators have agreed to simplify the governance of the programme between the European Commission, the European Space Agency and the future EU Agency for the Space Programme. They “secured” the GovSatCom programme, the encrypted communication programme for governments. Finally, they strengthened certain principles related to EU area diplomacy.
In general, the programme ensures the continuation of current programmes, in particular the Copernicus earth observation and Galileo geolocation programme. The agreement also includes an amendment to the articles related to the sub-delegation conferred on the future EU Space Programme Agency, in order to ensure that the programme complies properly with the European Financial Regulation. This amendment was introduced after the interinstitutional agreement, at the insistence of the European Commission (see EUROPE 12203/11).
As a reminder, the points relating to the budget and Brexit have been left to later; the overall budget envelope of the next multiannual financial framework and the modalities of Brexit are not yet known. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)