Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 July 2013
286. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on the achievements made during the Irish EU Presidency regarding EU space policy, EU space industrial policy, the European Space Agency and space surveillance and tracking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36167/13]
View answerSpace-related activities are at the forefront of knowledge generation, stimulating the development of new products and services, fostering industrial co-operation and being a driving force for innovation, growth and job creation across Europe and globally.
The Irish Presidency secured Council Conclusions on both EU Space Industrial Policy and on the Establishment of Appropriate Relations between the EU and the European Space Agency (ESA). These Council Conclusions represent important steps in defining the future landscape of the European Space effort. They recognise the strategic importance of space for Europe, its growing role in modern society, the importance of the space industry and of the European Space Agency, and the contribution which these partners make to economic growth and competitiveness. Progress was also made on the proposal for a Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) support programme which will ensure the security of satellite data for all sectors and users of such services. Initial discussions also took place on a proposed Regulation on Copernicus – the European Union’s Flagship satellite-based earth monitoring programme.
The European Commission’s Communication on “Establishing appropriate relations between the EU and the European Space Agency”, adopted in November 2012, proposed several options for the evolution of this relationship. Council Conclusions on EU/ESA relations adopted under the Irish Presidency on 18 February 2013 requested the Commission to work closely with ESA to carry out a comprehensive cost benefit analysis and impact assessment of a set of options, including those proposed in the Commission’s Communication. At the Competitiveness Council meeting in May the Commission presented an information paper updating the Council on the status of its reflections on the evolution of EU-ESA relations. The Commission informed the Council that it had commenced an in-depth study of the options for the evolution of this relationship and informed the Council that the first results of this study are expected to be presented to Member States towards the end of this year.
Based on the European Commission’s Communication on "EU Space Industrial Policy - Releasing the Potential for Economic Growth in the Space Sector" adopted on 28 February 2013 Council Conclusions on this Communication were adopted at the Competitiveness Council on 30 May. These Conclusions represent a significant advancement in defining European Space policy. They recognise the strategic importance of space for Europe, its growing role in modern society, the importance of the space industry and its contribution to economic growth and competitiveness. Ireland’s space strategy is to build a sustainable, knowledge intensive and export focused space industry in Ireland, leading to increased levels of exports, sales and employment, to support strategic research in Irish third level institutions and to promote the use of space based systems for commercial and wider societal needs. While this is achieved mainly through Ireland’s participation and investment in the European Space Agency (ESA), this will be further supported by the EU space industrial policy.
Under the Irish Presidency the Commission’s proposal for a Space Surveillance and Tracking Support Programme adopted on 28 February 2013 was examined at meetings of the Space Working Party between March and May. Space surveillance and tracking is of critical interest to countries with space assets and while Ireland has no space assets at present we are critically dependent on the security of satellite data for all sectors, actors and users of satellite-based services. The proposed SST service will increase the safety of satellite operations by reducing collision risks and helping to better predict uncontrolled re-entries of inactive satellites or space debris and increase European non-dependence levels. Member States expressed support for the proposal, however, a number also expressed concern in relation to certain security, financing and governance aspects of the proposal. The Presidency worked intensively to progress the proposal, however, full agreement on the text was not possible and on this basis the Irish Presidency presented a Progress Report on the status of negotiations to the Competitiveness Council on 30 May.
The Commission adopted the Copernicus Regulation on 29 May 2013 and the proposal was presented to the Competitiveness Council on 30 May and was also presented to the Space Working Party on 7 June for an initial exchange of views. Copernicus is the new name for the European Earth Observation Programme GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security). Copernicus is a European initiative for the implementation of information services dealing with environment and security. Copernicus is based on observation data received from Earth Observation satellites and ground based information. The overall objective of the Copernicus initiative is to support Europe’s goals regarding sustainable development and global governance of the environment by providing timely and quality data, information, services and knowledge. Through Copernicus the state of our environment and its short, medium and long-term evolution will be monitored to support policy decisions or investments. Copernicus will provide services in six sectors: Marine monitoring, Atmosphere monitoring, Climate change monitoring, Land monitoring, Emergency management and Security. A number of Government Departments, agencies and organisations have an interest in aspects of the proposal as potential users of the system and Copernicus will also provide opportunities for commercial applications in the downstream sector based on full and open access to Copernicus observation data and information products. This ambitious Earth observation programme is headed by the European Commission in partnership with the European Environment Agency and the European Space Agency and will enter its full operational phase in 2014.
The achievements of the Irish Presidency in the development of European Space Policy will contribute to the development of a strong and competitive European space industry and will provide further support to Irish industrial space interests and provide opportunities for growth particularly in the SME sector which encompasses the majority of Irish space companies.
