To contribute to and comment on the European Commission proposal on the 'EU Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme' from the viewpoint of the regions
To give practical feedback based on regional experience
To highlight the important role that regions have in the space sector
Rapporteur Andres Jaadla has been active throughout many events to highlight the conclusions of the opinion on "The space programme of the Union and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme" such as for example:
Participation to regular Copernicus User Forum meetings
11th Annual Space Conference on the 22nd of January 2019
European Space Week in Helsinki on 3rd of December 2019
Copernicus4regions Breakfast Debate on 23rd January 2020
In the follow-up report from the European Commission to the opinion by Rapporteur Andres Jaadla the following was stated:
-Regions play an important role in many of those policy areas (such as energy, digitisation, but also agriculture, transport, safety, and security) and space-enabled Services can make public Services more efficient and useful for Citizens and businesses.
-The European Commission assured that the new tasks of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) are related to the new components, in particular for Govemmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) user coordination and security, or to tasks which do not duplicate current European Space Agency (ESA) tasks, such as user-uptake, promotion and awareness-raising, and security accreditation for all components where relevant.
-The Commission has commissioned a study (which is ongoing) to support the analysis, mapping and characterisation of space hubs in the EU. The study is expected to provide useful input for the successful establishment and sustainability of a Space hub, including the importance of having a sound operational capability (e.g. a dedicated and capable management team) and financial capacity (i.e.
a Space hub should be financially sustainable and should demonstrate the pursuit of non-EU funding at regional and/or local level).
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- Supports the European Commission's vision of the EU Strategy for Space, and its implementation through the establishment of the Space Programme of the EU. A unified and integrated Space Programme with an increased budget of 16 billion euro will give rise to increasing synergies between fields such as space and energy, space and digitalization and many more, allowing regions to fulfil their important role;
- Stresses that the emphasis in the proposal on management procedures for cooperation between the European Union, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, the Member States and the European Space Agency, should ensure that there is no duplication and should not reduce efforts for a more ambitious European Union space industrial policy;
- Calls on the European Commission to further clarify and elaborate on the concept and creation of space hubs and innovation partnerships, more specifically on the financial and management responsibilities of different actors, and underlines that such initiatives can be especially relevant for regions, including regions involving more than one Member State;
- Calls on the European Commission to add clearer proposals on how to increase the use of Earth observation data and technologies by national, regional and local authorities, small and medium-sized enterprises, scientists, researchers and dedicated networks for Copernicus data distribution so that these bodies have the ability and the opportunity to transform data into information that is of use to citizens;
- Underlines the importance of awareness-raising and an inclusive space policy which offers many benefits for science, research and development and inspires the younger generation.