The Director-General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Jan Wörner, announced in an internal message that he does not want to ask for an extension of his mandate by another 2 years, according to the French daily La Tribune, in an article published on Sunday 2 February.
The mandate of Mr Wörner, who has been at the head of the Agency since the end of 2014 (see EUROPE 11221/15), was extended in 2018 until 30 June 2021 (see EUROPE 12074/17). The aim would be to put an end to "destabilisation operations" against him, according to the message, and Mr Wörner added that he was "not ready to be at the centre of discussions again to the detriment of ESA and its organisation", the same newspaper reports. However, the German was very successful at the last ministerial summit (see EUROPE 12379/2).
Jean-Yves Le Gall, the current president of the Centre national d'études spatiales, is likely to be touted to succeed him. However, his chances would be slim, given that space policy, in Thierry Breton's portfolio, and the operational management of the GSA, under Pascal Claudel, are already covered by two French politicians. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)