11/12/2020 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 11 December, Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister for the Finance, and Peter Altmaier, the German Minister for Economic Affairs, announced the launch of a high-level working group to improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the European space sector in the face of international competition, with a focus on future European launchers (Ariane 6 in particular). The working group will aim to strengthen the European position in order to develop an international regulatory framework, with particular reference to space traffic management. It is expected to make a series of recommendations by mid-2021. Mr Le Maire stressed on his Twitter account that this was the first joint work between Germany and France on the future of European launchers for 15 years. At the last meeting of the Space Council, Paris and Berlin appeared to take up quite contradictory positions, particularly on the question of European launchers (see EUROPE 12606/6). (PH)