EUROPEAN UNION AND EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY: STILL A LONG WAY TO ESTABLISH ANY APPROPRIATE RELATIONS?

摘要

According to article 189 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union: "The Union shall establish any appropriate relations with the European Space Agency." This provision gives the European Union a clear mandate in relation to the European Space Agency, which emphasizes the need for cooperation between both organizations in space. However, it does not in any way predefine the nature of the relations nor does it affect other relevant provisions of the Treaty. This cooperation could include, where appropriate, aspects related to foreign and security policy. This provision has no impact on the existing arrangements between the European Community/European Union and the European Space Agency. This paper will analyze the evolution of the European Union-European Space Agency relations, taking into account the different perspectives set up in the last documents issued by the European Union and the European Space Agency: a) the European Commission has identified in its Communication "Establishing appropriate relations between the European Union and the European Space Agency" -COM(2012)671- several structural issues that need to be addressed and has presented in 2014 the first Progress Report; b) the Council of the European Union has adopted the "Conclusions towards a shared European Union- European Space Agency vision for space fostering competitiveness" in May 2014; and c) the European Space Agency Council at Ministerial Level adopted a Resolution in December 2014 where the Ministers set a course for the European Space Agency to remain an independent, world-class intergovernmental organization.