Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-10-08-Speech-3-100"
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"en.20031008.9.3-100"2
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"Mr President, I am obliged to Mr Busquin, who knows that I have for a number of years had a particular interest in Galileo, which has become very dear to me. Yet I am constantly being asked what Europe is really looking for in space, and why Europe should spend money on space when there are other problems on Earth that are so pressing and in need of high levels of funding. So, although I do not expect this issue to meet with either rejoicing or unqualified approval, my firm conviction, which I know to be shared by many of my fellow-MEPs, is that space is of strategic importance for Europe and for the European economy. Thanks to new technologies, it provides new opportunities. It provides jobs for our engineers and prospects for the future. Europe must not be satisfied with technological achievements that are less than first-class, and Europe is capable of them.
It is a matter of fact rather than a secret that space policy is one of the core issues for the twenty-first century. Our everyday lives are already being shaped by the most varied applications made possible by space and the satellites we have put into it, behind which lies technological know-how that needs to be nurtured. We, in Europe, have valuable resources, by which I mean not only engineers and technicians, but also research establishments and enterprises. These give rise to innovations, but, as I keep being told, and as I have heard this afternoon, researchers and brainpower go where more is on offer, not only financially, but also in terms of technology. That, Commissioner Busquin, is why I believe there to be an urgent need for real efforts to be made towards a coherent European space policy, as you have so aptly described it. Europe must become aware of where it stands and of what opportunities it has. No longer must we make declarations; now is the time for us to at last take action. Europe must also be willing to invest, and, while there is no doubt that this can sometimes be a painful business, the space sector is not only highly cost-intensive, but also highly competitive. Let us then take up this challenge!
Without decisiveness and commitment, Europe will lose independent access to space, and will also lose out when it comes to the applications resulting from it. Commissioner Busquin, I share your view of the dangers of dependence on others, and so I welcome the Commission’s Green Paper on European space policy and Mr Bodrato’s detailed and stimulating report. Europe needs a political signal to begin a new chapter in space travel, and I hope that we will, by a clear resolution tomorrow, help to give European space travel the right impetus!"@en1
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