On Wednesday 19 June, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that Slovenia had signed the accession agreement to the ESA Convention the previous day.
Once the agreement is ratified, Slovenia will become the 23rd ESA Member State. According to the Agency’s Director General, Josef Aschbacher, this should happen at the beginning of 2025. Slovenia has been working with ESA since 2008.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 327th ESA Council meeting, held in Paris on 18 and 19 June. At this Council meeting, its members discussed the future of the Agency, in particular taking stock of progress on the Agenda 2025 implementation plan and discussing the future strategy for 2040.
The members have begun preparations for the next Council at ministerial level, which will be held in 2025. According to Mr Aschbacher, it is necessary to plan for how the Agency will change and how it should develop, in light of the challenges facing Europeans.
The Council also discussed ESA’s space security programme, which aims to protect power grids on Earth and spacecraft in orbit against dangers from space. The space security status report highlights the progress made in space weather monitoring, planetary defence and space debris mitigation.
To see the report, go to https://aeur.eu/f/cqr
The members also reviewed the progress made in recent months, such as the development of Ariane 6 (see EUROPE 13424/25), the launch of the Earthcare satellite (see EUROPE 13419/30), and the 11th Space Council of 22 and 23 May (see EUROPE 13415/4). Mr Ashbacher presented them with a report on this 11th Council, detailing how ESA is working with the EU to strengthen the European space industry while promoting the responsible use of space.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/cqs
ESA has also strengthened its international cooperation with the space agency of the United Arab Emirates – the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre – the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Ukrainian government. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)