Valérie Pécresse, French Minister for Higher Education and Research, brought together for the first time the European ministers for space affairs to attend discussions in Kourou (French Guiana) on 20-22 July 2008. Following fruitful exchanges and debates during the meeting, the French Presidency draws the following outcome: 1) The European ministers for space affairs expressed the wish to see the European Union become a global player in European space policy with a view to: · setting the main guidelines and future vision, particularly in the field of exploration; · implementing space programmes for the benefit of citizens, such as Galileo and GMES, which help to improve their daily lives; · giving Europe a wider voice at the international level and to open European Space Policy to partnership with developing countries and especially Africa. 2) In addition to the European Space Agency which is widely recognised for its expertise in technological and scientific programmes, European space policy needs greater political steering in light of the major challenges it faces such as the daily life of European citizens, European autonomy, budgetary choices and international relations. 3) To fully assume its role, the European Union will also need the specific financing tools and mechanisms for its space policy. Future EU budgets will have to include a specific line dedicated to space affairs. 4) To this end, the European ministers for space affairs wished to: · reinforce the GMES Earth Observation System to ensure the permanent availability of the data it provides by means of guaranteed long-term funding from the European Union; · foster the development of new space applications by providing this sector with the benefits of a more open and harmonised European market within the framework of the European Union's Lead Market Initiative; · maximise the use of space data to help understand climate change by strengthening cooperation among European research centres, on the basis of a study to be carried out by the Commission; · guarantee the permanent availability of space services through the setting up of a space monitoring system at the European Union level. 5) And, in the area of exploration of the solar system, the European ministers for space affairs concluded that: · all exploration programmes must be conducted as part of a global programme that is open to all nations. · it is essential to carry out an audit of the existing skills that are crucial in determining the European Union's involvement in such a programme. · a conference should be launched to decide in more detail what the European Union may contribute to such a programme. · After concluding these discussions, the European ministers for space affairs stated that they wished to organise similar meetings on a more frequent basis.
