European Union @ United Nations, Partnership in Action
 
 
Manifestations en rapport avec l'UE, dans et autour de New York: en savoir plus sur les programmes universitaires, les séminaires de réflexion, les festivals d'art et les activités culturelles.

 
EU in the USA - delegation to Washington, DC

< Retour à la page précédente

EU Presidency Statement - PUOS

Sommaire: EU Presidency Statement - PUOS (18 October 2005: New York)

EU Presidency Statement on PUOS, by the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations on behalf of the European Union, Fourth Committee, United Nations, New York

Mr Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania and the Candidate Countries Croatia* and Turkey, the Countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and Moldova align themselves with this statement.

Since the launch of the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, into outer space in 1957, mankind has achieved major advances in space exploration and use. Atmospheric observation, lunar and interplanetary exploration have become the basis for environmental sciences. There have also been significant advances in communications, navigation, meteorology and sensing.

All states have the right to explore outer space and make the most of opportunities for scientific, economic, environmental (including the study and management of climate change) and communication advances.

Space science and technology contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals of 'protecting our common environment' and 'development and poverty eradication'. They also contribute to achieving the goals of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, in particular through Earth observation and telecommunication.

The European Commission organized an International Conference in February 2005 to explore co-operation between space-faring and non-space-faring nations. This conference discussed the science, technology and development of global services such as positioning, earth observation and access to information. The results from this conference have helped the EU, working with the European Space Agency, to create a space programme that will reflect the need for international cooperation.

In this context, I should like to mention ESA's ENVISAT-satellite. ENVISAT is the largest ever satellite built for earth observation purposes. It enables more than 90 states to profit from its services in regard to the environment, weather, and climate protection. The ENVISAT-user conference with global participation held in September 2004 in Salzburg served to underline the success of these applications.

The right of all states to explore and use this unique shared environment for the benefit and in the interest of all humankind is universally accepted. It is the concern and responsibility of all states to ensure that these rights are realised in the interest of maintaining international peace and security. We remain a strong advocate of this concept and noted with great interest the report of the forty-eighth session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) held in Vienna in June 2005.

After a successful review of the implementation of the recommendations of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III) in 2004 the COPUOS will continue to make progress in the following important areas:

• the development of a comprehensive world-wide environmental monitoring strategy;

• the protection of the earth's environment and management of its resources;

• the use and application of global navigation satellite systems to support sustainable development;

• the use of telemedicine to improve health care;

• and optimising the effectiveness of space-based services for use in disaster management.

The EU approves the method of establishing the priorities within the thirty-three recommendations of UNISPACE III. The work of action teams under the voluntary leadership of Member States has proved to be an effective mechanism for initiating the implementation. New agenda items are covered in the Committee and its Scientific & Technical and Legal Subcommittees. We attach great importance to this work and believe progress should continue.

As more and more countries become involved in space activities, it is essential that complex issues are tackled. This is particularly important given the unique characteristics of the space environment and space technology. Let me mention two examples:
• The increasing commercialisation of outer space demands consideration. The Office for Outer Space Affairs began three years ago to organise yearly workshops on space law. There has been great interest in this subject so far, both in developing and developed countries, and this work should continue.

• There is increasing pollution in outer space caused by space debris. This space debris will stand in the way of future space activities if no further measures are taken soon, both internationally and at the national level. On this issue, the EU notes with appreciation that international and national progress has been made in implementing the appropriate measures based on international space debris mitigation guidelines, formulated by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Co-ordination Committee. We also welcome the move this year by the UN Scientific and technical subcommittee to develop a complimentary set of high-level mitigation guidelines.

We believe that continued international co-operation in the field of space science and space technology is essential. Let me emphasise two specific examples, which show the European involvement in international co-operation:
• The European initiative 'Global Monitoring for Environment and Security', GMES, to come to a common way of harmonising earth observation information, demonstrated the increasing need for international co-operation. These initiatives play a substantive role in achieving the goals of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development such as improving peoples' lives and conserving our national resources. A key event on the 16 February 2005 was the adoption of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) ten year implementation plan by 60 governments and the EC. The plan is designed to improve our understanding of the Earth system, markedly enhancing global policy and decision making abilities to promote the environment, human health, safety and welfare. GMES will be the European contribution to the GEOSS.
• We recognise the importance of space technology for navigation, geo-positioning and time synchronisation. In addition to the US's Global Positioning System and the Russian GLONASS system, the EU is developing its own system, Galileo. As a result of important negotiations between the US and the EU, GPS and Galileo can now co-operate to strengthen and improve the use of civil satellite navigation world-wide.

In this context, it would be useful to stress the important role of the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA and the European Union have jointly taken the important initiative to develop GALILEO and GMES. ESA closely co-operates with the European Union on Galileo and GMES. ESA has also taken forward the development of many European space activities from the common European Strategy for Space, which was developed by the EU in co-operation with ESA. Moreover, ESA takes a world-wide role, for example in connection with UNISPACE III, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the International Space Station.


* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

  • Ref: PRES05-265EN
  • Source UE: Présidence UE
  • UN forum: Quatrième Commission (Affaires politiques spéciales et décolonisation)
  • Date: 18/10/2005


< Retour à la page précédente

Voir aussi
 

Etats Membres de l'Union Européenne