Brussels, 21/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption on Thursday 20 November (443 votes to 65 and 16 abstentions) of a resolution on space policy, the European Parliament welcomes Council conclusions of 26 September 2008 as a useful political commitment towards the development of a European space policy that makes a strong contribution to forming a European identity.
The Parliament agrees with the Council that the current priority is implementation, as soon as possible, of the Galileo, EGNOS and GMES or Kopernikus programmes (global surveillance of the environment and security). It regrets that, despite clear recommendations received from the user community, continuity of low inclination altimetry data is not guaranteed after exploitation of the Jason 2 satellite, which is already in orbit, and invites the Commission to tackle Jason 3 financing problems which could endanger the short term viability of Kopernikus services, and to report to Parliament on decisions taken in this respect. It invites the Council and Commission to encourage synergy between civilian and security developments in space, underlines that the European security and defence capability depends among other things on the availability of satellite systems, and states that access to these systems is essential for the European Union. The Parliament considers that Europe should develop common conception and long term strategic planning so that space exploration may play a role within international space exploration programmes by humans and robots (such as the global space exploration strategy), including the possibility of a manned expedition to Mars. It stresses the need to examine the possibility of creating a new specific budgetary line for space as part of the European Union budget, should the Lisbon Treaty provisions on space policy take effect. Finally, the Parliament stresses the interest of space exploration in that it gives young Europeans an incentive to choose careers in science and technology and thus strengthens Europe's capacity for research.
How can space be brought back down to earth, or rather how can one best use the technologies which, mainly through satellites, are already part of our daily lives? That is the question being raised by several MEPs, especially Etelka Barsi-Pataky (EPP-ED, Hungary) who, in a brief debate, called for structured dialogue of European and international institutions, and Romanian Socialist Silvia Ticau, who stressed the need to invest in Galileo. Some have reticence about the “defence” aspect of space policy, admits Anne Laperrouze (ALDE, France), but this, she said, is nonetheless fundamental, together with environment. “When I was small, I wanted to be an astronaut”, British Conservative Giles Chichester said, recalling striking pictures of his visits in American and European space centres.
Speaking for the Council, Jean-Pierre Jouyet said they were seeking federating European projects and that space is precisely one such project, helping to predict climate change and improve the daily lives of citizens. The Union must not ease up its efforts when it comes to this “highly symbolic policy”, the Council president said. (L.G./O.J./transl.jl)