The French Presidency of the Council of the EU presented its main priorities to national delegations on Tuesday 11 January; these were structured around the future constellation on secure connectivity, the future of Copernicus by 2035, and a European space strategy in the field of defence and security. France will also follow up on the issue of space traffic management and the Launcher Alliance.
For example, the future of the European earth observation programme Copernicus, which has a funding shortfall due to Brexit (see EUROPE 12845/5), is a priority for the French Presidency. A first version of the conclusions on Copernicus is expected to be submitted on 18 January. The focus will be on the use of spatial data.
The division of tasks between EU Council working groups on the Galileo navigation programme should also be discussed, we were told. The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) should also be approached. In general, the French Presidency wants to organise one meeting of the Space Working Group each week, while also increasing the frequency of meetings during March (see the calendar in the document at the end of the article).
The process will culminate on 16–17 February with an informal ‘Competitiveness’ ministerial meeting that will be dedicated to space policy and held in Toulouse (see EUROPE 12817/24). The meeting – held on the morning of 16 February – will focus on secure constellation and space traffic management. A joint EU–ESA working lunch will then be planned. In the afternoon, the informal Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) will be held. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to attend it. It should be noted that a ‘Space’ Council is scheduled to take place in Luxembourg on 6 June.
To consult the Presidency document on Copernicus (in French): https://bit.ly/3rj4Db4
To read the presentation document (in French): https://bit.ly/3fjRxoj (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)