The development of future missions of the Copernicus Earth observation programme could be jeopardised due to a political deadlock over the UK’s contribution to the European programme following Brexit, according to information gleaned on Wednesday 6 October.
The Brexit agreement provides for the possibility for the UK to participate in EU programmes, including Copernicus, in the context of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework. A Memorandum of Understanding had been negotiated between the European Commission and London, providing for a UK contribution of €750 million, which was to be delegated to the European Space Agency (ESA).
However, due to a blockage in the political negotiations between the Commission and the UK government, the Contribution Agreement (CA) on Copernicus, signed last June, together with the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) (see EUROPE 12746/17), had to be amended at the last minute. The new version reduces the contribution delegated by the Commission to ESA, reducing the overall amount from €4.115 billion to €3.365 billion.
The contribution agreement includes a clause to consolidate the financial aspects of the EU contribution by the end of November. For the moment, however, negotiations are reportedly stalling, which could jeopardise future Copernicus missions.
Indeed, due to the application of the principle of geographical return (the principle that a State receives an economic return equivalent to its investment in an ESA project), if a mission were to be cancelled, this would have repercussions on certain Member States, which would therefore not have the expected geographical return on their investment. This could have consequences for the upcoming budget negotiations for the next ESA ministerial meeting in 2022, where some Member States may be tempted to invest less in the Copernicus programme.
In the absence of an agreement between the Commission and the UK, one of the solutions envisaged would be to spread the programmes over time, we are told. However, this option would leave some uncertainty, as the European Commission cannot commit itself to the ongoing negotiations on the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)