The current Director of Earth Observation Programmes at the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher of Austria, was appointed Director General of the Agency on Thursday 17 December following a two-day meeting of the ESA Council.
This nomination had been expected since his more or less confidential internal election last month, which EUROPE reported (see EUROPE 12610/26), an election he won against the Spanish Minister for Science, Pedro Duque, and the Norwegian Christian Hauglie-Hanssen. Thus, the appointment brings to an end the six-month-long selection process (see EUROPE 12511/14, 12417/12)
The Austrian, who recorded excellent results for his programmes at the ministerial meeting in Seville in 2019 (see EUROPE 12379/2), will thus take over from the German Jan Wörner, whose term of office ends at the end of June 2021.
At an online press conference, Mr Aschbacher said that he is preparing a document for the beginning of his term of office that will detail his vision for space policy by 2025. He added that one of his priorities is relations with the Union. “But there is only one director general”, he hastened to add, indicating that for the time being, Mr Wörner remains the only master on board. Mr Wörner, for his part, confirmed that he will ensure a “smooth” transition.
The latter detailed the main points of the Council meeting, including a document he presented to the Member States in which he set out his vision of ESA’s financial future for the coming decade. The Council was also an opportunity to discuss the situation of the space industry in Europe during the pandemic.
He also reported to the Member States on the state of play of the negotiations on the Framework Financial Partnership Agreement (FFPA) with the European Commission, which are currently pending (see EUROPE 12606/6). Asked by EUROPE, Mr Wörner confirmed that the negotiations remain difficult and that they are his priority for the coming weeks. Another meeting was held between ESA and the Commission at the beginning of the week, without success.
Asked about the recent interinstitutional agreement between the European Parliament and the EU Council on the space programme (see EUROPE 12624/21), Mr Wörner said he regretted the shortfall of more than €2 billion for Copernicus from the EU. He also hoped that there would soon be an agreement with the United Kingdom so that the country (which is a full member of ESA) could have a clearer role in the European space landscape. “The coronavirus has shown us that our Earth is too small (and so is Europe) for thinking in terms of borders”, he concluded. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)