Current and Future Relationship of ESA and EU – Findings of the Sesison at the Final Symposium of "Project 2001 Plus" (Cologne, 8th to 10th June, 2005)
- Paper number
IAC-05-E6.3.12
- Author
Ms. Julia Neumann, University of Cologne, Germany
- Year
2005
- Abstract
“Project 2001 Plus”, conducted jointly by the Institute of Air and Space Law of the University of Cologne and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), is concerned - amongst other subjects - with the results of international and regional cooperation, such as, for instance, on the European level. Therefore, one of its workshops (Brussels, 5th/6th December 2002) was devoted to “Legal Aspects of Future Institutional Relationship between the European Union and the European Space Agency”. This is why the third of the four sessions taking place at the final Symposium of “Project 2001 Plus” in Cologne (8th to 10th June 2005) is dedicated to the increasingly important question of the current and future relationship of ESA and the EU. Future cooperation in space activities between the two international organisations will have to address two aspects. Firstly, institutional matters are of high relevance due to the different institutional structures of ESA and the EC/EU. And secondly, material issues need to be considered in order to avoid conflicts in their material regimes. In this respect, especially the industrial return principle applied by ESA might be posing a problem for the EC/EU objective of free competition. The relevance of those two aspects for further cooperation in space activities is reflected in the above-mentioned session at the final symposium of “Project 2001 Plus”. Chaired by Vladlen Vereshchetin, Judge at the International Court of Justice, the speakers invited, Dr. Frans von der Dunk and Prof. Dr. Sergio Marchisio, will supposedly address harmonization of the industrial policies of both organisations as well as institutional matters of cooperation in the European space sector. But also the research project “Legal framework for a coherent future structure of European space activities”, conducted independently of “Project 2001 Plus”, is concerned with both aspects, institutional issues on the one hand and material issues, such as the relationship of ESA’s procurement policy and EU competition law, on the other. This paper intends to inform on the findings of the relevant session of the final Symposium. At the session, the results of “Project ESA/EU” will for the first time be presented to a broader audience, meeting with external views. Especially the Panel Discussion will therefore give interesting impetus to the further development of the legal framework for cooperation between ESA and the EU. Moreover, the paper will add the author’s own evaluation, based on the findings of the discussion and taking into account the results of “Project ESA/EU”, as well as the legal implications given by the relevant workshop of “Project 2001 Plus”. There is no doubt that cooperation between ESA and the EU is of high value for both organisations and essential in order to strengthen European space activities in the global market. Bringing into terms the institutional structures and the material norms is therefore of utmost importance. Possibilities in order to achieve this aim shall be highlighted by this paper.
- Abstract document