The official signature of the framework agreement is scheduled for 27-28 November at the Council of the EU in Brussels. The Framework Agreement recognises that both sides have complementary and mutually reinforcing specific strengths and obliges them to cooperate in order to avoid duplication. The framework has two main objectives: for the International Space Station (ISS), ESA is not represented by all its Member States:[113] 10 of ESA`s 21 Member States are currently participating in the project: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Austria, Finland and Ireland decided not to participate due to a lack of interest or concern about the cost of the project. The United Kingdom withdrew from the preliminary agreement due to concerns about the cost of the project. Portugal, Luxembourg, Greece, the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland joined ESA following the signing of the agreement. ESA is involved in the construction and operation of the ISS with contributions such as Columbus, a science laboratory module launched into orbit by NASA`s Space Shuttle mission STS-122, and the Cupola observatory module, completed for ESA by Alenia Spazio in July 2005. Current estimates for the ISS are approaching a total of €100 billion (development, construction and 10 years of maintenance of the station), of which ESA has committed to pay €8 billion. [114] About 90% of the cost of ESA`s share of the ISS is borne by Germany (41%), France (28%) and Italy (20%). German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter was the first long-term crew member of the ISS. The second option would be to improve cooperation between the EU and ESA while maintaining the status quo.

The two organisations would remain separate entities, although the interface and relationship between them would be adapted through amendments to the existing EU-ESA Framework Agreement of 2004 and a revision of the delegated agreements. The political and missionary objectives would be defined jointly by the EU and ESA and summarised in a new framework agreement. This would be adopted by ESA and the Council of the EU with the consent of the European Parliament. For the implementation of the programmes, the new Framework Agreement would include new coordination mechanisms in which the ESAs would further develop internally their capacity to address the differences between the two financial regimes and to work towards a gradual alignment of accounting systems and internal procedures across the EU. [1] As an example, the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) programme, presented jointly by the European Commission and ESA in 2001, can be cited with the aim of providing information services allowing access to data under EU control, as well as accurate information on environmental and security issues that meet the needs of a wide audience. The most recent Copernicus programme, which replaced GMES and under which the Commission entrusts ESA with a number of tasks, including the technical coordination of the space component of the Copernicus programme, the management of allocated funds and the guarantee of monitoring and control. See Regulation No 377/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 establishing the Copernicus Programme and repealing Regulation (EU) No 377/2010. OJ L 122, 24 April 2014, p. 44. The EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) programme, based on a tripartite agreement between the EU, ESA and Eurocontrol on the development of a global navigation satellite system in which ESA is to deal with technical aspects while the EU identifies user needs and ensures the deployment of the system. [5] Part of the doctrine questioned the real need for such an explicit mention, but concluded in the affirmative with regard to the attribution of dignity to the space sector within the framework of EU policies, even though the then European Community had long been concrete measures in the aerospace sector. The framework agreement has two main objectives.

The first is the coherent and progressive development of a comprehensive European space policy, aimed in particular at linking the demand for services and applications that use space systems to support EU policies with ESA`s provision of space systems and infrastructure necessary to meet that demand. The second objective of the Agreement is to establish a common basis and appropriate practical arrangements for effective and mutually beneficial cooperation between ESA and the European Union, while fully respecting the institutional and operational framework of each Agreement. WHEREAS Decision No 676/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7. March 2002 on a legal framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community (Radio Spectrum Decision), given that all space systems or applications depend on the availability of radio spectrum and that ESA is not an agency or body of the European Union (EU) and counts third countries (Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom). However, there are links between the two, with different agreements in place and working on defining the legal status of the ESAs in relation to the EU. [103] Russia is ESA`s first partner in its efforts to ensure long-term access to space. There is a framework agreement between ESA and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation and partnership in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, and cooperation is already under way in two different areas of launcher activity, from which both partners will benefit. “This agreement will facilitate the establishment of new joint projects and create a stable framework for cooperation between ESA and the EU, which will benefit European citizens,” said ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain. The agreement also opens up new opportunities for cooperation, such as EU participation in ESA`s voluntary programmes or ESA`s management of EU space activities.

“The Framework Agreement will be judged mainly on the basis of its success in developing valuable new programmes and activities that respond to citizens` demands expressed by the EC,” added Mr Dordain. HAVING REGARD TO the various resolutions of the Council of the European Union(1) and of the Council of the European Space Agency(2) and the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 10. In December 2001, the two above-mentioned Councils approved the establishment of a framework for cooperation between the Parties, while respecting their respective roles and responsibilities; As regards the legal adaptations necessary for the application of the various options envisaged, with the exception of the first, which would not require adaptation, the second option seems relatively easy to apply, as it would only require amendments to the current 2004 EU Framework Agreement or the conclusion of a new Framework Agreement. The third option, as set out by the European Commission [21] itself, would require the adoption of a Union legislative act containing the legal definitions of the functions assigned to an `EU pillar`, their structure, the financial requirements subject to a detailed quantitative cost-benefit analysis and an assessment of the complex institutional and legal implications of the option in question. It should also include the necessary changes to ESA`s legal framework. The fourth option seems to present the greatest difficulties in terms of legal adjustments. In this case, ESA in its current form would no longer exist as an intergovernmental organisation and it would be necessary to create an EU agency. This would require the adoption of the relevant personnel and financial rules, including any transitional provisions.

Precisely because of the difficulty of reaching a political consensus in the near future, this option should be considered the least viable from the point of view of its feasibility. .

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