The European Parliament and the German EU Council Presidency met in the evening of Tuesday 15 December to resume negotiations on the regulation establishing the EU Space Programme.
The co-legislators were thus to discuss the actual duration of the programme (art. 1). Ahead of the negotiations, the Council wanted to limit the duration of the programme to specific deadlines linked to the multiannual financial framework (1 January 2021-31 December 2027), whereas the European Parliament preferred to link it to the MFF, but without mentioning a date. It would like to draw inspiration from what has been agreed under Horizon Europe.
Parliament’s idea is to provide more flexibility, bearing in mind that the programme does not only contain funds, but also has operational aspects. On Article 7 on the participation of third countries, the co-legislators agreed on the substance, but less on the form. A rewriting job could take place.
As for Article 25, dedicated to the conditions for participation and eligibility in the space programme, Parliament wished, upstream of the negotiations, to show flexibility as regards the Council’s position (see EUROPE 12596/9) in exchange for obtaining delegated acts (which give more power to the Parliament than implementing acts), in particular on the possibilities of transfer between the different projects of the space programme (Copernicus, Galileo, GovSatCom, SSA). This last point is particularly important for Parliament, especially as the budget agreed by Parliament and the Council reduces the envelope for the space programme (see EUROPE 12533/6).
Parliament also wanted to have its say on the Framework Financial Partnership Agreement (FFPA) between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the EU, an otherwise particularly sensitive issue (see EUROPE 12606/6).
Some are hoping for a very quick agreement, even at this first meeting, as a lot of work has been done at the technical level. EUROPE will return to the subject to take stock of the negotiations. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)