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Space Policy 23 (2007) 97107 www.elsevier.com/locate/spacepol

The EUs emergent space diplomacy

Nicolas Peter
Space Policy Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA Available online 29 March 2007

Abstract Science and technology (S&T) have always been at the heart of the European political construction. This started in the Cold War through a series of pan-European collaborative schemes in a panoply of different scientic elds like molecular biology and nuclear research. However, while most of these early collaborative patterns focused on intra-European cooperation, in the post-Cold War era international S&T relations have evolved to encompass a broader international dimension. The European Union is now building a diverse and robust network of cooperation with non-EU partners to become a centre of gravity in international S&T affairs. This increasing linkage between S&T and foreign policy is particularly explicit in space activities. Even though it is the newest space actor in Europe, the EU is pushing the continent to extend the scope of its partnerships with Russia and China, while at the same time modifying its relations with the traditional European partner, the USA, illustrating therefore the emergence of a distinct EU space diplomacy. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

0. Introduction International cooperation in science and technology (S&T) has been growing steadily since World War II and can be considered the biggest contemporary axis of civilian governmental cooperation. External S&T cooperation may not only be implemented for scientic or technological reasons, but also to improve foreign relations. International cooperation in S&T has been a signicant component of European integration since the late 1950s; since more recent times it has also been an element of the European Unions relations with the rest of the world. Until the mid-1980s, the European Union (EU) was developing a set of specic S&T policies aiming to foster intra-European cooperation and to support programmes for particular technology elds in order to be more competitive in a global context. S&T cooperation was, therefore, one element of the European response to the external economic competition. But, as the EU has seen its legitimacy and its role in S&T policy increase since the end of the Cold War, such cooperation has evolved beyond Europes borders to reach out to new partners. The increasing inter-linkages of the EUs S&T and foreign
Corresponding author at European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), Schwarzenbergplatz 6, 1030 Vienna, Austria. E-mail address: nicolas@gwu.edu.

policy are particularly important in space activities, as space has always been a domain of high S&T politics. Thus, the EUs increasing involvement in space affairs is leading to the emergence of an EU space diplomacy. 1. The EU political construction process The EU is the result of a process that began more than half a century ago with the declaration on 9 May 1950 by Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Affairs Minister, which afrmed that Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements that rst create a de facto solidarity. Schuman then proposed to launch an initiative to pool coal and steel that would make any war between France and Germany materially impossible [1]. In the aftermath of World War II, ensuring peace and security, as well as Europes future stability, motivated pan-European cooperation efforts to avoid the conicts that had dominated the European scene since the end of the 19th century happening again. This cooperation was structured around the need to nd new common ground and the desire to share certain national resources. Economic common ground appeared rapidly as the preferred playground, where no hard political decisions would be removed from nation-states prerogative [2].

0265-9646/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.spacepol.2007.02.007

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The concept of economic integration and the removal of barriers and frontiers for steel and coal production was later extended to the creation of a common market for the whole of the six founders states mutual trade in goods,1 with the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The treaty gave the EEC a wide range of economic competences.2 Todays Europe was not made all at once, but the institutions and powers have been developed step-by-step following the condence gained through the success of preceding steps to deal with matters that appeared to be best handled by common actions [3]. The EU has, therefore, come a long way in the half century since the process of its construction was launched by the aforementioned Schuman declaration. It has become a supranational institution with an increasing weight in world affairs, beyond the reach of governments of most of its member states in many domains where it has powers and instruments with which to act, particularly in low politics. The members of the EU have transferred to it considerable sovereignty, more than that of any other nonsovereign regional organization. Today the EU is an economic giant with a single market and currency; it has brought peace and stability to the continent and has stabilized its neighbourhood through a continuing process of enlargement and association.3 The EU now stretches from the Atlantic to the shores of the Black Sea and from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle, and has about 490 millions citizens living in 27 countries. 2. The EUs Role in S&T The EU is governed by a series of institutions such as the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice, the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank. While cooperation among the governments of member states is still very important, the EC performs the essential role of initiating both particular measures for the Council and Parliament to decide on, and a general policy package [3]. The Commission is, therefore, the main executive body of the EU, comprising 27 commissioners responsible for different policy areas. These policy responsibilities and expertise have broadened enormously since it came into existence. From its original narrow concern with free trade in coal and steel, the EUs policies have expended to cover agricultural and monetary, as well as S&T and foreign policy issues.
1 The six founder states were Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Italy. 2 The EU was established under that name in 1991 by the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty). 3 These waves of enlargement started in the 1960s with the entry of Ireland, Denmark and the UK in 1973, Greece in 1981, Portugal and Spain in 1986, Sweden, Finland and Austria in 1995, 10 new countries (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) in 2004, and Bulgaria and Romania in 2007.

The emergence of multinational cooperation in S&T in Europe has a long history that runs parallel to the institutionalization of Europe. European countries realized long ago that, in order to be able to compete internationally, they had not only to cooperate among themselves to unite their forces, but also to seek international partners. S&T cooperation for Europe is, therefore, a long established strategy and often a sine qua non [4]. S&T cooperation was part of the European integration agenda from the very beginnings of the European project. It was completed in the Cold War by a series of pan-European collaborative schemes of an intergovernmental nature in a panoply of different scientic elds like molecular biology and nuclear research.4 Until the mid-1980s, there was no explicit EC S&T policy. Research programmes were implemented on an ad hoc nonsystematic basis, generally in response to a perceived crisis. But, in the middle of the decade, a legal basis for an explicit S&T policy at the EC level was specically dened for the rst time in the Single European Act (SEA) of 1987. Its adoption formally conferred competence upon the EC in the eld of S&T by adding a new Research and Technological Development (RTD) title to the 1957 Rome Treaty, paving the way for the EC to develop and implement its own set of S&T strategies. The SEAs RTD title was further signicantly broadened by the 1993 Maastricht Treaty, stating that EC competence now applied to all the research activities deemed necessary by virtue of other chapters of this treaty [5]. The EC, therefore, acquired powers to take the lead in RTD policies to support areas of Commission policy other than competitiveness or industrial policy. As a new competitive international system of S&T has emerged during the past two decades, the EC has developed a proactive international policy in S&T to promote its goals, based on large and visible projects that aim to attract attention. In particular, in March 2000, EU leaders adopted the Lisbon Strategy, which set an ambitious goal for the Union to become the most dynamic and competitive region in the world economy by 2010. 3. The increasing role of the EU in foreign policy Foreign policy and defence have been coordinated among western European states since 1947 by the collective defence agreement between France and Britain that was extended in the following year to the Benelux countries with the signing of the Brussels Treaty. However, in the 1950s, the EEC was given only limited competence to conduct external relations. Nevertheless, from the founding European treaties onwards more foreign policy oversight has been given to various European supranational institutions and the mechanisms for coordinating national foreign policies and agreeing common goals have been in continuous evolution.
4 Eight pan-European organizations were in the place by the mid-1970s, e.g. CERN.

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First, a loose intergovernmental frameworkthe European Political Cooperation (EPC)was created in 1970 to give collective expression to the foreign policy interests of EEC members on selected issues. The EPCs primary marches and de clarations, but tools were diplomatic de its relationships with the Community grew through the use of economic aid or sanctions. Although the EPC was established outside the Community straits, it quickly grew more sensitive to Community policies and procedures so that, by the time of the Maastricht Treaty in 1991, the EPC was replaced by a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and both the EC and CFSP were tied together legally under the new single institutional framework known as the EU [6]. The EU is in a process of almost constant reform and adaptation and its external relations are no exception. But the EU has managed in a couple of decades to evolve from a relatively inward-focused regional economic organization to a more global political actor. Today, the EU increasingly tends to structure its most important foreign policies into broad dialogues or framework agreements, which involve among others economic and political dimensions, as well as an S&T dimension. This capacity to package EU external policies into single comprehensive deals has allowed the EU to augment its volume of activities over the years, as well as to expand its inuence in the world. This is particularly important today, since what was often considered low politics (i.e. S&T cooperation) has gained in status and is now used as a tool to reach different countries as part of a broad foreign policy agenda. 4. The rise of European international S&T cooperation in the post-Maastricht era Governments initiate or participate in S&T cooperative ventures for a number of scientic or technological reasons that have been well documented. But S&T agreements are often also used by policy makers to serve foreign policy purposes, since the signing of an international S&T agreement between governments or international organizations can indicate a willingness to improve relations among countries, leading in turn to broader cooperation. Major powers, including the EU, are now using S&T as a political tool to reach non-traditional partners in order to build trusting relationships across political borders. The SEA was a fundamental milestone for the EC, setting up an explicit link between European RTD and foreign policy by requiring RTD policy to promote the international competitiveness of European industry and to promote research cooperation with countries outside institutional Europe. Most importantly, the Maastricht Treaty allowed the aims of EC research to support relations with third countries, explicitly linking S&T activities and foreign policy. Over time European S&T cooperation with non-EU states has thus became an important component of European foreign relations with the rest of the world, as

the EC realized that its development was nested within a global context and that it should have a greater presence in many international forums. The scope of EUs S&T foreign policy has thus evolved over the years to encompass many varied relationships and accords across various geographical areas and topics, thanks to the increasing openness of its activities and particularly the Framework programmes (FPs) for RTD.5 In the 1980s, EU activities were concentrated in developing countries. Cooperation was aimed at helping them solve their problems in elds such as health, the environment and agricultural production. In the 1990s, S&T cooperation policy acquired a new dimension. It opened up in terms of objectives and geographically. S&T cooperation agreements were developed with the industrialized countries and with the emerging economies. However, in the 21st century, the international dimension is no longer conned to a specic S&T cooperation programme and set of countries, but is now inherent in all EC research activities. This reorientation of the EU has led to the development of composite policy covering different regions and more specic policy domains, including space affairs. 5. The European space context There is a wide range of reasons why governments engage in space activities. The basic justications have been different among countries at different times. For instance, the so-called space race between the USA and the USSR was mainly driven by the national strategy to demonstrate technological capability for national security reasons and to promote national prestige. In contrast to the two superpowers space activity, European space activities were driven by scientic common endeavours and motives. In Europe, space was originally dealt with by individual countries but, as early as 1959, the satisfactory model and results of Europes nuclear research facility (CERN) introduced a new perspective for space activities, requiring collaboration [7]. Subsequent discussions among European stakeholders led to the creation of the European Space Research Organization (ESRO) in March 1964 and the European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO) in February 1964. After a long and difcult struggle to establish a stable institutional framework during the 1960s and early 1970s, Europe nally found a feasible institutional arrangement that satised the wide diversity of
5 The EUs FPs are the primary tool for framing European research in the EU. FPs dene the objectives, priorities and nancial support from the EU over a few years in a limited set of topics. FPs are designed to complement and strengthen efforts at the national level by enabling effective medium- to long-term planning of research and are undertaken only when appropriate. FPs have grown since their creation in terms of resources allocated but also in terms of topics covered, allowing the EU to be more reactive and so to adapt quickly to a constantly evolving context of worldwide S&T research competition. The seventh FP was launched in January 2007 for 7 years.

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national policy logics [7]. The European Space Agency (ESA) was created in 1975 by combining the two aforementioned organizations. Since then, ESA has been the intergovernmental agency responsible for coordinating the ofcial collective European space programme. There are also several other organizations with limited responsibilities for specic collective activity, including Eumetsat. The European space landscape is, therefore, split into three distinct levels: the overall European level with the EU; intergovernmental organizations, e.g. ESA and Eumetsat and the national space agencies.6 Europe in space goes back therefore for more than 40 years and Europe is now the second largest civilian power in space in terms of its consolidated budget. European nations and Europe collectively maintain launcher, satellite manufacturing and research facilities in the whole spectrum of space activities except for human spaceight. But since the pioneering activities of Europe in space, the European space context has changed dramatically. For a long time, the development of space programmes has principally been carried out almost exclusively under the framework of ESA and national agencies; now, however, the European space sector is entering its fourth institutional evolution with the emergence of the EU as the future leader of the European space landscape.7 The EC has realized that space can provide support for a host of its activities, and that space activities are strategic for the construction of Europe and its cohesion, as well as a tool to serve the interests (humanitarian, environmental and peace-keeping activities) of the Union, its member states and its citizens by leveraging other European space actors assets. However, to be more effective in line with its agenda, the EC recognized that it also needed to develop its own programmes. Europe is, therefore, in the process of making space a community matter and has been introducing a space dimension into its political ambitions of global actor. 6. The EU and space Commitment of money is often considered the ultimate demonstration of political will, but strategy, agenda and policy are also important elements [8]. Despite its limited funding allocated to space activities to date, and the fact that the EU is the most recent stakeholder in the space eld in Europe, it is positioned to be the most signicant actor in the future. This is the result of the convergence of various interests that require an integrated approach to achieve security for European citizens, strategic autonomy
6 There is therefore a complicated geography of European space affairs. The ESA with its 17 Member States is not a subset of the now EU 27. As such Norway and Switzerland are members of ESA but not the EU while 12 countries that joined the EU since 2004 are not members of ESA (albeit some participate in some ESA projects). 7 The European decision-making process of space is unique in that some issues are handled through intergovernmental processes, while other issues are addressed through the so-called communitary process since the signature of the Maastricht Treaty in 1991 [2].

and success in international relations [6]. Formally, the EUs (then the EEC) involvement with space affairs began with EC participation as observer at the 1970 European Space Conference (ESC). This invitation was repeated for each subsequent ESC session, a tradition that has been extended to ESA Council meetings at ministerial level. Since then, the main European institutions (Commission, European Parliament, Council of Ministers, European Council) have all been involved in space activities (mainly at a policy level) at different periods of European history. The European Parliament was the rst European institution to monitor events in the space eld, issuing two reports in 1979 and 1981. However, it was with its space communications in the late 1980s that the Commission started to be more active in space affairs and to play a leading role in space activities at the European level. In its 1988 communication, The European Community and Space: A Coherent Approach, the Commission recognized that space was more than a specic sector of activity. Already it recommended closer collaboration with ESA, illustrating its new aspiration to play a broader and more active role in space. Subsequent reports, such as the Gibson Report in 1991 and the 1992 communication The European Community and Space: Challenges, Opportunities and New Actions, reiterated Europes weakness in terms of lacking a coherent space policy, while the 1992 Rosvig Report urged the Commission to dene a comprehensive space policy. This series of high-level reports and communications led the EC to set up a Space Coordination Group (SAG) in 1992 to facilitate inter-Directorate General (DG) discussions and to formulate a coherent space policy for the Commission, since the policies responsibilities for space were divided among different DGs. In the meantime, the new post-Maastrict Treaty competence added to the EU in the elds of RTD and foreign policy led to a change in the EUs position in space. The Commissions third space communication of 1996, The European Union and Space: Fostering Applications, Markets and Industrial Competitiveness, required an updating of the Commissions position on space because of changes in the overall international context. The Commission stated that the EU should use its competence in terms of external trade, internal market and international cooperation to cover horizontal aspects such as ensuring a vigorous presence in space launch services, in the standardization of space components, and in establishing cooperative activities with foreign nations [9]. The increasing interest in synergy between ESA and the EU that started in the late 1980s on an ad hoc basis was consolidated with the creation of the Joint Space Strategy Advisory Group (JSSAG), which included EU and ESA members. This advisory group led to the September 2000 European Strategy for Space (ESS), which emphasized the highly strategic characteristics of space as a tool for sovereignty, scientic progress and economic development, to the benet of European citizens [7]. Subsequently, in line with the Commissions 2000 communication Europe and

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Space: Turning to a New Chapter, the Commission and ESA created a Joint Task Force (JTF) in February 2001 to monitor the ESS and carry it forward. The JTF delivered its rst report in November 2001, making recommendations related to closer cooperation between ESA and the EU [7]. Furthermore, in order to enhance the European capability and autonomy, the report proposed the setting up of a Space Council (comprising the EU Council and the ESA Ministerial Council) in order to develop a European space policy. The policy would be presented to the European Council, where heads of state and governments can consider space policy in full, including its security and defence aspects [7].

7. The EUs space programmes The EUs has increasingly involved itself in the support and development of space technology activities. As noted above, the development of space technology was for a long time almost exclusively carried out by ESA. However, the development of commercial space applications and Europes desire to maintain its competitive advantage in the areas of high technology and access to information led to changes in the EU posture towards space. Over the past decade, the Commission has also become increasingly convinced that space technologies can bring essential support to the Unions policies and objectives and deliver substantial strategic, social, economic and commercial benets. This view has been supported by the European Council and has led, in turn, to growing EC involvement in R&D related to satellite applications, a commitment to the development of clear policies on space-related issues and the introduction of operational satellite systems with EC support. Space is now perceived by many in the EU as a new strategic challenge for Europe, since space activities have proven that they can contribute to raising the technological and industrial level of its member states. As the Commission expanded its arena of responsibility for RTD, it began to encroach upon space technology, which was the established domain of ESA, principally through the EUs FPs.8 Several projects either directly dedicated to space applications and services or indirectly employing the use of space-related technology and infrastructure for the scope of the research have been funded over the years by the EC. For instance, FP34 and FP5 have funded projects in the elds of satellite communication and Earth observation,9 and FP5 has done so in satellite navigation. However, in an important development in RTD, FP6 (20022006) for the rst time included astronautics activities in the programme under thematic priority no. 4, Aeronautics and Space. It had a budget of
8 Several other initiatives such as the Trans-European Network (TEN) or Quick Start Programme have contributed to nancing space activities in Europe. 9 In FP4, the EU contributed nancially to the development of a sensor called Vegetation installed on board SPOT 4.

h1.075 million, with h355 million directly devoted to technological activities for space systems focused on Earth-oriented applications.10 The current Framework Programme (FP7, 200713), while reducing the number of research themes, has seen its space emphasis grow thanks to a dedicated Space and Security theme, illustrating the EUs willingness to enhance Europes industrial competitiveness in space activities [6]. Space has a budget of h1.43 billion over 7 years out of about h50 billion dedicated to the whole of FP7. The allocation for space activities in FP7 represents a signicant advance compared with FP6. However, since about 85% of this has been earmarked for GMES, that leaves only about h200 million over 7 years for launches, exploration, technological developments and science projects, etc.11 In the late 1990s, the EC started its rst two major space programmes: the global navigation satellite system, Galileo and the Earth observation system for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). These two agship missions are the cornerstones of the EUs current programmatic space activities. There are also two agencies with direct activities in space. The European Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Authority (GSA) is a community agency to follow the deployment and operation of Galileo and related programmes,12 while the European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC) is a CFSP agency set up in 2002 to process satellite imagery in support of the CFSP and of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).13 8. Recent developments and perspectives In response to a July 2002 request from the European Parliament to produce a White Paper on space, the European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin introduced a Green Paper on European Space Policy on 21 January 2003, prepared in cooperation with ESA, as a step towards this White Paper. The Green Paper examined Europes assets and weaknesses in the space sector in order to launch a debate on its space policy involving all players, including national and international organizations, the European space industry and its users and Europes scientic community and citizens. In November 2003 the EC released its White Paper, entitled Space: A New European Frontier for an Expanding Union An Action
10 The amount of community funds directly or indirectly dedicated to space varies from one year to another as a function of the number for calls for proposal issued, the quality of projects presented and their cost. For instance, it is estimated that on average in FP5 h70 million per year have been spent over the period 19982002 [6]. 11 However, other resources can be funnelled through other thematic priorities, e.g. security, to space-related activities. 12 The GSA replaced the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU), which was established by the EC and ESA in 2003 with a specic mandate to manage the development phase of Galileo and the selection of the concessionaire. The GJU was disband on 31 December 2006 and responsibility for Galileo was handed over to the GSA. 13 The rst agency responds directly to the Commission, while the other reports to the Council of Ministers (i.e. member states).

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Plan for Implementing the European Space Policy, setting out a future strategy for space activities within the EU. The EUESA rapprochement that had started in the 1970s with collaboration in several elds such as telecommunications and Earth observation has now been formalized by the ECESA Framework Agreement which came into effect in May 2004. The Framework Agreement has two main objectives. The rst is the coherent and progressive development of an overall European space policy. The second is to establish a framework providing a common basis and appropriate operational arrangements for efcient and mutually benecial cooperation between ESA and the Commission, fully respecting their institutional settings and operational frameworks. It replaced the previous ad hoc structure for cooperation (the ESAEC joint Task Force and the Joint Space Strategy Advisory Group) with a Space Council. The rst European Space Council was held in Brussels on 25 November 2004 and involved all 27 EU and/ or ESA member states. It aimed to dene an overall European space programme and the broad lines of the European space policy.14 The second Space Council, held in June 2005, claried the roles of the different actors and identied Galileo and GMES as agship activities of the European Space Policy. The third Council, held in November of the same year, endorsed the GMES programme. In particular, it supported a phased approach to GMES, with the development of the three fast-track services (emergency management, land monitoring and marine services) due to enter pilot operational phase by 2008. Although the European Constitution ratication process is currently on hold following its rejection in French and Dutch referenda in 2005, this has not altered the EUs ambition in space.15 Indeed, to underline its new interest in space, control over EU space matters was transferred within the Barrosso Commission from the DG for Research to the DG for Enterprise and Industry (DG ENTR), illustrating Europes new position, whereby space goes beyond research and assumes a strong industrial dimension. Further, since 1 June 2006, a GMES Bureau has been created in DG ENTR to become the focal point of the Commissions GMES-related activities.16
14 The Commission issued a Communication on European Space Policy entitled ESPPreliminary Elements in response to the rst Space Council meeting. This communication denes the general guidelines of the European space policy and European space programme, as well as the division of roles between the EU and ESA. 15 The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE), commonly referred to as the European Constitution, signed in June 2004 includes space among EU competences in two distinct parts of the document, making a concrete step and a success for the European space sector. Most importantly it includes the denition of space as a shared competence, giving the Union the authority to implement space programmes, as long as it does not interfere with member states activities. It therefore allows the possibility for the EU to develop space activities to support its CFSP, among other things. Had the Constitution been ratied, the treaty would have entered into force on 1 November 2006. 16 A Galileo ofce already exists in the DG for Energy and Transport (TREN).

After an extensive debate of some 2 years involving the main European institutional actors, the much anticipated European space policy to be released under the German presidency in spring 2007 will determine the pan-European priorities, objectives, roles and responsibilities that will implement the European space programme. This policy, drafted jointly by the EC and ESA in consultation with member states of the EU, ESA and Eumetsat, will present the European vision for space and its related priorities and objectives regarding access to space, space technology applications, industrial policy and international relations. It aims to create a consensus among all European space actors and to become the foundation for a fully functional European space programme, leading ultimately to a coherent European space project. The space programme will comprise all space-related programmatic activities by ESA, the EU and their respective member states as well as Eumetsat. Getting everyone to agree on these issues has been difcult but this policy will ultimately and for the rst time provide an EU dimension to the space policy developed and implemented for 30 years by ESA member states collectively and individually. 9. The EUs emergent space diplomacy As mentioned above, since the successful launch of Sputnik I in 1957, space, like nuclear activities, has always been a prestige S&T domain, in which governments have had strong interests. However, for Europe as a whole, it is independent access to space, space applications for the benet of citizens and governments and space science that have been the traditional reasons for engaging in space activities. But as the EU has become aware of the importance of space activities for achieving a wide range of policy objectives, and as the international political signicance of space has grown, space is now taking a high prole in the Unions dialogues with major partners. As underlined by Johnson, the EU sees soft power tools like diplomacy, cooperation and economic and political action as no less valid and effective than the use of military force [10]. In this context, the international dimension of civilian space activities is increasingly becoming a major element of the EUs relations with third parties. Galileo served as a wake-up call to the world that the EU is an emerging space power. But it is just one component of much broader European space initiative [8]. The EU is reaching for the leading role in European space policy, where international cooperation is a major element. As underlined in the 2003 White Paper, the challenge for Europe is identied to be able to forge international partnerships that will serve European space policy objectives in support of EU policies across a broad spectrum [11]. Space is also recognized as a privileged instrument for developing international cooperation, and international cooperation within a European space policy is not simply a matter of scientic collaboration on technologies and applications, but should also be in function of

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serving the widest-possible spectrum of the EUs objectives [11]. The White Paper supports Europes new posture, in which the EU, in contrast to ESA with its scientic and technological approach, is placing an increasing emphasis on foreign policy issues and calling for a diversied approach to co-operation needs to be a key element in Europes policy so as to maximize benets and minimize risks [11]. It also states that the strength of Europes capabilities is increasingly enabling it to act as a key space player at the global level. The EU will have to take responsibility for dening and representing the external dimension of the European space programme [11]. And it recommends that the European Commission should develop, beneting from its collaboration with ESA, a strategy for international space co-operation for the next decade with particular emphasis on supporting the EUs CFSP [11], underscoring the EUs increasing willingness to link space activities with more global foreign policy objectives. The draft Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the European Space Policy, prelude to ofcial resolution of the next Space Council identies international relations as a major element. It is indicated that European priorities in international relations in space will be consistent with European policies priorities, and that Europe will seek to build new relationships and reinforce existing one with key space actors. The draft of the soon-to-be-adopted European space policy also calls for a common inclusive strategy for international space relations, based on the principles of coherence, synergy and complementarity [12]. And it notes that the opportunities and necessity for engaging in international partnerships across the whole spectrum of space activities are increasing. It states that international cooperation will be built around partnerships that in some cases may be strategic in nature, therefore, underlining the increasing diplomatic role of international cooperation in space affairs, as well as the fact that the EU will take the lead as the overall representative of Europe in applications programmes and particularly in Galileo, GMES and regulatory matters while ESA will deal with other domains such as space sciences, launchers and human spaceight. All these cooperation will be done in consultation between the EC and ESA, as well as with member states and other partners [12]. This formalisation of the division of labour demonstrates the increasing inuence gained by the EC in space affairs, as it is identied as the lead actor on the international dimension of space applications and is consulted on all other international space activties. 10. EUs relations with Russia, China and the USA The European space context has been evolving rapidly over the past decade with the advent of the EU as a major future actor and this has already been apparent in Europes

relations with third parties like Russia, China and the USA, illustrating the emergence of an EU space diplomacy. 10.1. EuroRussian relations The EU had no ofcial relationships with the USSR until the late 1980s. In the context of the Cold War EuroRussian relations were limited in scope, and trade relations were based on bilateral agreements with individual member states. However, since 1989 a cooperation agreement between the USSR and the EC normalizing trading relations has been in place. Most importantly, since 1 December 1997, Russia and Europe have in effect had a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) for political and economic relations, conrming that the EU and Russia have become strategic partners.17 This agreement establishes the institutional framework for bilateral relations, sets the principal common objectives and calls for activities and dialogue in a number of policy areas. The PCA covers cooperation in energy, environment, transport and space, as well as in a range of other civilian sectors. 10.1.1. Euro-Russian cooperation in space Cooperation in space between Europe and Russia has over time involved different actors, but also evolved in scope, allowing the building of a comprehensive common experience in working together. Individual countries dominated the rst phase of EuroRussian (then Soviet) cooperation at the end of the 1960s and in the 1970s. The second phase that started in the 1980s is characterized by the development of a more coherent European approach through ESA. One of the rst attempts at European cooperation came with the creation of the Interagency Consultative Group (IACG) which held its rst meeting in 1982 to coordinate its members respective missions to Halleys Comet.18 However, the rst ESARussia Framework Agreement on Cooperation was only signed in 1991 and focused on human spaceight. In 1993 ESA signed an agreement for two ESA missions to the Mir space station (the so-called Euromir missions with ights in 1994 and 1995).19 This cooperation continued with the training of ESA astronauts as ight engineers for the Soyuz capsule and a number of short-duration ights to the International Space Station (ISS). In 2001, an agreement between ESA and the Russian space agency for taxi missions to ISS was signed. Most recently, on 19 January 2005, ESA Director
17 A PCA is a legal framework based on the respect of dramatic principles and human rights, setting out the political, economic and trade relationship between the EU and its partner countries. It is a 10-year bilateral treaty signed and ratied by the EU and the individual state. 18 Composed of IKI (Space Research Institute in Moscow), ESA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan. 19 Until this agreement, all the European visiting mission to Russian stations were organized on a national basis between Russia and the country concerned.

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General, Jean-Jacques Dordain and the Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov, signed an agreement in Moscow on long-term cooperation and partnership in the development, implementation and use of launchers. This partnership is based on two main pillars: the exploitation of the Russian Soyuz launcher from Europes spaceport in French Guiana and cooperation without exchange of funds on R&D in preparation for future launchers. 10.1.2. EURussian cooperation in space The EU has recently strengthened its political relations with Russia. In this context, space is considered a highly symbolic area of cooperation. A bilateral Space Dialogue between the EU and Russia was launched in 1998 and, since then, both sides have expressed a mutual interest in multiplying their cooperative projects in space. A tripartite (ECESARosaviakosmos) Joint Memorandum signed in December 2001 on New opportunities for a EuroRussian Space Partnership provided a political framework for future work, to include the Galileo/Glonass cooperation, GMES, prospects for launchers, as well as industrial cooperation and research in space transportation systems. The importance of space cooperation with Russia has since been reafrmed as a top priority for Europe on many occasions, e.g. during the visit of EC President Romano Prodi to Moscow on 2223 April 2004. Moreover, at the 15th EURussia Summit in Moscow in May 2005, leaders of the EU and Russia adopted a Roadmap for the Common Economic Space to reinforce their cooperation, which included a specic paragraph dedicated to space activities. Its objectives are to build an effective system of cooperation and partnership between the two in various space elds. Then, at the 16th EURussia Summit held in October of the same year, the technical and economic potential of working closer together on space transportation systems and satellite navigation was underlined. Russia and the EU (and ESA) also signed a cooperation agreement on space technologies and activities on 10 March 2006. The areas of specic interest are space applications (satellite navigation, Earth observation and satellite communications) access to space (launches and future space transportation systems) space exploration and the ISS and space technology development. 10.2. EuroChinese relations While the USA is heavily divided on its China policy between proponents of containment and their opponents, who favour engagement, European countries have followed a policy of constructive engagement towards China. The EEC established diplomatic relations with China in 1975, and since then its goals in China have been overwhelmingly oriented towards trade and investment relations. The main legal framework for relations with China are the 1985 ECChina Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) covering economic and trade relations

and the EUChina cooperation programme. Since then, the Commission has been the engine for developing various forms of economic cooperation between Western Europe and China [13], but a common policy on China was only dened in 1995; it followed the Commissions 1994 initiative Towards a New Asia Strategy. The goal of this initiative was to develop relations with China on a longterm and comprehensive basis [13]. Current EU policy towards the country is based on the Commissions policy entitled EUChina: closer partners, growing responsibilities, released in October 2006, which sets the new agenda for EUChina relations for the coming years. The EUs fundamental approach to China is one of engagement and partnerships and includes strengthening bilateral cooperation in S&T. A dedicated S&T agreement was therefore signed in 1998 and entered into force in 2000; it was then reviewed in 2004. In addition, 2007 is ChinaEU S&T year and is expected to strengthen relations and cooperation. 10.2.1. EuroChinese cooperation in space Cooperation with China in space has expanded over time from a limited involvement of individual European countries. ESA has been the traditional European partner, with scientic collaboration beginning in 1980 with the signing of a document facilitating the exchange of information between ESA and Chinas Commission for Science and Technology. In 1992, the Chinese Academy of Science signed an agreement with ESA to collaborate on the Cluster mission. And in July 2001, a collaborative agreement on the Double Star programme was signed in Paris.20 ESA has also been cooperating with Chinas National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSCC) in the development of Earth observation (EO) applications over the past decade. In April 2004, this cooperation was reinforced with the creation of a dedicated 3-year EO exploitation programme called Dragon, which establishes joint SinoEuropean teams for the exploitation of data from ESAs ERS and Envisat satellites for science and applications development [14]. 10.2.2. EUChina cooperation in space Through ESA Europe and China thus already have a long record of cooperation stretching back 25 years and, despite some fears about reinforcing a competitor and facilitating technology transfer to China, the EU seems willing to engage the country in concrete space projects in line with its overall foreign policy. Space-based navigation is currently the domain of most intense cooperation. In September 2003, the ChinaEurope Global Navigation Satellite System Technical Training and Co-operation Centre (CENC) was inaugurated in Beijings Zhongguancun Hi-Tech Zone, to serve as a focal point for Galileo
Double Star aims to study the effects of the Sun on the Earths environment following the steps of ESAs Cluster mission. The Double Star spacecrafts were launched in December 2003 and July 2004.
20

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activities. On 9 October 2004, the Galileo Satellite Navigation cooperation Agreement was signed at the 6th EUChina summit in Beijing,21 demonstrating the importance of space as a tool of foreign policy for Europe. This agreement calls for cooperative activities in satellite navigation and timing in a wide range of sectors, notably science and technology, industrial manufacturing and service and market development, as well as standardization, frequency and certication.22 Galileo is one of the most visible aspects of EUChina relations in space but other cooperative ventures are ongoing. In April 2004, a High-Level steering group on ChinaEU Space Co-operation was set up to reinforce the dialogue between the EU and China, and to support the development of long-term perspectives for cooperation in space. The steering group includes representatives of government administrations, agencies and manufacturers, as well as operators and service providers. It will also deliver an annual report with recommendations to participating organizations and the EUChina Joint Ministerial Committee. The group will help to identify areas of mutual interest and promote concrete joint actions. A Joint Statement launching the Space Dialogue between the EC and China was endorsed in September 2005, and since then a series of high-level meetings have taken place. Nevertheless further cooperation is linked to problems of Chinas participation to the Galileo programme, and particularly its participation in the GSA. However, beyond this issue on Galileo, an overall space policy dialogue is planned to be launched in 2007. 10.3. EuroAmerican relations USEuropean relations have experienced signicant strains in recent years. Geopolitical events such as the Doha Round and the crisis in the Middle East have been the cause of signicant tension. Nevertheless, focusing on the difcult aspects of USEuropean relations should not obscure the positive cooperation that still exists in many areas, such as peace-keeping efforts in the Balkans and the substantial trade and investment links between the USA and Europe [15]. 10.3.1. EuroAmerican cooperation in space Transatlantic space relations have in the past few decades evolved and uctuated between cooperation and competition, depending on the topic and the times. A long history of cooperation exists between NASA, ESA and individual European countries in scientic and human space ight programmes, including the Space Shuttle and the ISS. This cooperation has also survived signicant geopolitical economic and technological changes, such as the end of the Cold War, the pressure of budget reductions,
China was the rst non-EU country to become a partner in the Galileo project. 22 The same month the NRSCC became a member of the GJU.
21

growing economic competition, etc. However, today, transatlantic cooperation is not perceived as mandatory by Europe. After an initial period of European dependence on the USA thanks to an asymmetry in capabilities and resources, the recent reduction in this capacity gap is modifying traditional space cooperation patterns. Furthermore, the successive unilateral changes in project scope and commitment, technology export restrictions (International Trafc in Arms Regulations) and the unpredictable nature of the US budget process continue to make Europeans hesitant about collaborating with the USA [15]. 10.3.2. EUUS relations in space Despite a limited history of cooperation with the USA, the EU has experienced tense transatlantic relations in the case of the GPSGalileo negotiations. The USA made initial attempts to undercut the programme by rst putting pressure on several European countries, and then by removing the deliberately introduced random errors in the civilian signal known as selective availability (SA) in May 2001. However, starting with the EU Council decision to go ahead with the Galileo project in March 2002, system compatibility between GPS and Galileo became a priority for the US administration. After months of tension between Europe and the USA over how GPS and Galileo could coexist, top government ofcials inked an agreement during the EUUS Summit in Dublin in June 2004 [15]. Galileo, while being managed by ESA on the technical side, has a clear EU identity, since international cooperation beyond Europe is an integral part of the project. While ESA views Galileo mainly as a space programme. The EU views it as a civil infrastructure programme part of the Trans-European Network of Transport rather than a simple space programme. Furthermore, the international dimension has been a major element in the programme. The EU Council has stressed on various occasions that international cooperation is an essential element designed to ensure that maximum benets are derived from Galileo. Consequently, ` -vis it encouraged the EC to have a pro-active vis-a international participation and to engage with non-EU countries interested in contributing to the Galileo programme. The EU considers that international cooperation will ultimately promote widespread use of the technology and ensure optimal interoperability and compatibility but is also in line with its foreign policy objectives. In this context, talks with the USA are only one part of its international outreach effort; the EU has entered into cooperation agreements with, among others, China, Israel, Canada and South Korea, and negotiations are also ongoing with Russia, India, Brazil, Australia, Ukraine, Argentina, Chile and Morocco. In the Galileo context, the EU is therefore using its foreign policy leverage not all, to gain a wide user base for its system, but also to obtain a compromise with the USA that preserves the potential benets of its spacebased navigation system. However, during the 2005 EUUS Summit, both sides agreed to initiate a dialogue on civil space cooperation as

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part of the European Union and United States initiative to enhance transatlantic economic integration and growth. On 24 March 2006, European and American ofcials met in Brussels to discuss transatlantic cooperation in space. This was the rst meeting of the EUUS dialogue on Civil Space Cooperation announced at the June 2005 USEU Summit.23 A broad range of activities and policy issues were on the agenda including Earth observation, satellite navigation, satellite communication, space transportation systems, space science and exploration, as well as regulatory issues. The European delegation was led by the EC, illustrating its growing role as major European interlocutor with the USA. Furthermore, in the international Global Earth Observing Systems of Systems (GEOSS) initiative, the EC has the status of co-chair of the GEO Executive Committee with South Africa, China and the USA, again illustrating the recognition of the EC as a peer of the USA in global space fora. 11. Conclusions The policies, responsibilities and expertise of the ECs service have broadened enormously since it came into existence in the 1950s, and it has now become involved in just about every sphere of public policy. However, while S&T policies have become an established part of the Unions repertoire, they have also become over the years a sort of umbrella policy, where different distinct dimensions come together, including diplomacy. The recent efforts of the EU to build a diverse and robust network of relations and cooperation with non-EU countries and organizations, using S&T agreements do underline the fact that it is looking to become a centre of gravity in international affairs. This evolution also underlines a change of political strategy, where the EU increasingly uses its soft power particularly S&T cooperation agreementsas a tool of foreign policy, both to reinforce existing relations and to establish new partnerships. The EU has thus evolved from a relatively inward-focused regional economic organization to a more outward-focused global political actor, and the general blurring of the distinctions between high and low politics have reinforced the importance of S&T diplomacy for the EU. Space, a traditional domain of high S&T politics, is an integral element of this strategy. For a long time, the development of space programmes has almost exclusively been carried out within the framework of ESA and national agencies. Security concerns, differences in national strategies, size of investment, budget size and the principle of juste retour were among the reasons why European space collaboration was developed outside the policy competence of the EU. However, external and internal changes since the mid-1980s (change in the geopolitical context of space affairs and the extension of the EUs policy competence in RTD) seem
23 The next meeting will be held in Spring 2007 in Washington DC in the United States.

to have brought the EU a larger role in European space activities. Europe, through various institutions, now ofcially recognizes space as a strategic asset and views space as a tool for maintaining its political and economic strength and in support of the EU mission to be more active on the international scene. European openness towards international cooperation with various actors in space through the establishment of strategic partnerships by ESA, national space agencies and the EU, provides a variety of possibilities for cooperation with the rest of the world, illustrating that European diversity is a denitively a multiplier factor in international cooperation. These different European space levels have started numerous scientic and technical cooperative programmes with a great variety of countries. However, one of the distinctive features of the increasing involvement of the EU in space affairs is that, whereas ESA was more reactive to the overall geopolitical context, the EU is more proactive on the international scene, since it can cooperate at various different levels with various other partners, with high policy as its objective. The value added that the EC can bring to international space cooperation is to raise the political prole of discussions by embedding space dialogues into broader political discussions with third parties. And space activities are increasingly being used to support this goal. The EU is already taking the lead as the overall representative of Europe in the two European agship programmes, Galileo and GMES (in coordination with its partners involved in those initiatives). This this will certainly continue with its growing involvement in space activities (i.e. development of an optimum regulatory environment and European representation in international fora of reference such as GEOSS). The global space sector has become more diverse that ever with the emergence of new actors, and Europe under the EUs leadership, demonstrating its willingness to adapt rapidly to changing circumstances. The EU is establishing a new position in this changing geopolitics of space activities with the promotion of its overall policy principles based on international cooperation without loosing its competitive edge. It is therefore striking a balance between mutually benecial cooperation and competitiveness combined with non-dependence. Although it is the newest space actor in Europe, the EU is pushing the continent to extend the scope of its partnerships with Russia and China, while at the same time it is modifying its relations with the traditional European partner, the USA. Thus, with the fourth institutional evolution of the European space sector and the emergence of the EU as the major European space actor, there is the development of a distinct EU space diplomacy with different contours from those of the traditional European space actors, as witnessed by Galileo. The role of the EC in international space affairs is set to increase over time as the European space policy and activities will increasingly gain an EU dimension. Furthermore, beyond the involvement with the aforementioned countries the EC is also entering into space dialogues and

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programmatic cooperation with other countries such as India, South Korea or Israel, illustrating the global geography and dimension of its space activities. Consequently, the geopolitical context of space activities can be expected to evolve substantially in the near future under the increasing inuence of this emergent EU space diplomacy. References
[1] Schuman R. Declaration of 9 May 1950, Accessible at /http:// www.robert-schuman.org/robert-schuman/declaration2.htmS. [2] Pasco X. A European approach to space security. Paper published by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland, July 2006. [3] Pinder J. The European Union; a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2001. [4] Peter N. The changing geopolitics of space activities. Journal of Space Policy 2006;22:1009. [5] Treaty establishing the European Community, Accessible at /http:// europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/en/treaties/treaties_founding.htmS. [6] Peter N. Space and security: the emerging role of Europe. Journal of Astropolitics 2005;3(3):26596.

[7] Suzuki K. Policy logics and institutions of European space collaboration. Ashgate, 2003. [8] Gleason M. European Union space initiatives: the political will for increasing European space power. Journal of Astropolitics 2006;4(1): 741. [9] Communication from the Commission on The European Union and Space: fostering applications, markets and industrial competitiveness. COM(96)617 nal. [10] Johnson R. Europes Space policies and their relevance to ESDP. Paper published for the Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union of the European Parliament, 19 June 2006. [11] European Commission White Paper. Space: a new European Frontier for an expanding unionan action plan for implementing the European space policy. COM(2003)673, November 2003. [12] Discussion paper on the European Space Policy. Unpublished paper, December 2006. [13] Wong R. Forging common EU policies on China. The EC/EU: a world security actor? An assessment after 50 years of the external actions of the EC/EU3, Paris. 1415 September 2006. [14] Desnos YL, Bergquist K, Zengyuan L. The Dragon Programme ESA and China Cooperate in Earth observation. ESA Bulletin 119, August 2004. [15] Peter N. A new paradigm in trans-Atlantic space relations. Northwestern Journal of International Affairs 2006;7:7081.