01/10/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 1 October, the European Commission announced the establishment of the Joint Implementation Office for the EU Space Programme, including the European geolocation programme Galileo (see EUROPE 12798/22). This office is the result of tough negotiations between the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) on governance in the context of the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) (see EUROPE 12606/6). It will be composed of three members of the European Commission, three members of the European Space Agency (ESA) and three members of the EU Space Programme Agency (EUSPA), and will have as its primary mission to facilitate inter-institutional exchanges, in order to avoid the friction that has occurred in the past (see EUROPE 12302/10). (PH)