The German EU Presidency's proposals for Article 25 of the EU space programme regulation were reportedly strongly criticised by the Member States at a meeting of the Space Working Group on Tuesday, 1 September.
As a reminder, Article 25 is intended to protect the essential interests of the EU in the framework of the EU Space Programme from any foreign influence. However, in its recent proposals, the German Presidency has proposed a review of the Commission's autonomy in the control of the entities taking part in the programme in order to return control to the Member States (see EUROPE 12548/8).
At the meeting of the Working Group, the German proposal to impose committee procedure (§4) on the European Commission, when the latter wants to exclude or limit the participation of an entity in the EU space programme, is reported to have met with unanimous opposition, even among Member States generally favourable to German positions, such as Sweden or the Netherlands, because of its impracticability and lack of clarity.
The German proposal poses two problems: firstly, it would mean a significant slowing down of the decision-making process, or even blocking the programme's activities. It would take on average 18 months to draft an implementing act, which would be far too long for effective implementation. Secondly, committee procedure decisions are taken by qualified majority. However, Germany is proposing unanimous decision-making, which would not be legally viable. The German Presidency however is not said to have shared this reading.
As for the German suggestion of the introduction of the element of “competitiveness” in industrial supply, as well as the respect for “open economy principles”, this would divide the EU Council, pitting the Netherlands (generally in favour of the German proposal) against France or Belgium.
The German Presidency of the EU Council is reported to have asked Member States to send it their comments by the end of the week with a view to proposing a new wording for Article 25.
The German attitude on this issue is somewhat surprising. Some see this as a desire on the part of Berlin to introduce an element of intergovernmentalism into the EU's space policy, following the example of the operating method of the European Space Agency (ESA), an intergovernmental organisation governed by the principle of “geographical return”. The ESA invests an amount roughly equivalent to the national contribution in each Member State.
The situation is all the more worrying because, until there is agreement on all the articles of the Regulation, it cannot enter into force. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)