Brussels, 16/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - In a publication published on Thursday evening, the European Commission has welcomed the renewal of US interest in space exploration, stressing that "Europe is also bolstering its ambition" in this field, which "is being excellently prepared by international scientific co-operation". "We welcome President Bush's appeal for international co-operation", said Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, stating that his services, together with the European Space Agency, would now look into the implications of the new American strategy for European space policy as laid down in last November's White Paper. In fact, "certain elements of the new [American] strategy seem to indicate the discontinuity of current international co-operation projects, such as the international space station", he explained. But for the time being, "one thing is clear" for Mr Busquin: "Europe will be more of a dependable partner than a pace power in its own right", and "there is a lot to be done at European level- such as concluding several important initiatives such as Galileo and Gmes (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security), reinforcing launch capacity and the Guyanan space centre, creating better synergy between civil and security R&D". "Let us not forget that the American defence department remains the world's biggest stakeholder in the space sector", he noted.