Brussels, 04/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - On the fringe of the 3 October EU/Russia Summit, the European Commissioner responsible for research, Philippe Busquin, and the Director General of the Russian space Agency, Youri Koptiev, signed a joint document on the Euro-Russian Space Partnership. The aim of the move is a long-term strengthening of co-operation in the field of space, notably between the European Space Agency and the Rosaviakosmos. The main sectors of common interest are as follows: launch services, especially the possibility for the Russians of using the European space station of Kourou to launch their "Soyuz" rockets; satellite navigation systems like Galileo and Glonass; GMES initiative (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security system). Furthermore, the partnership will cover new fields, notably space science and technology, crewed missions, planetary exploration, the utilisation of the International Space Station and the development of future transportation systems. A high-level management group will be set up to implement the partnership and ensure its follow-up.