EU Presidency Statement - Third UN Conference on Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

Mr. President,

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

The European Union considers the application of space technology as one of the tools for improving human living conditions. Space activities have the capacity to contribute to meeting many important development goals. The EU, therefore, welcomes the work initiated by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in the implementation of the recommendations of UNISPACE III.

The report by COPUOS provides a good account of our joint efforts for the benefit of human living conditions.

Mr. President,

The report clearly demonstrates the benefits of using space technology in meeting world-wide development goals. It pays special attention to the synergy between the recommendations of UNISPACE III and the - world-wide - development goals of the United Nations Millennium Summit, the World Summit of Sustainable Development and the World Summit on the Information Society. The recommendations of UNISPACE III contribute to meeting some challenges set by these Summits, such as:

• eradication of extreme poverty and hunger,

• achieving sustainable development and protecting the environment,

• better managing and alleviating the effects of disasters and

• strengthening overarching capacity development including bridging the digital divide.

The recommendations for further action, as contained in the Plan of Action of the report, address several important areas for improving human living conditions.

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

• protection of the Earth´s environment and managing its resources,

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

• the use of telemedicine to increase health care, especially in isolated or underprivileged regions and

• the co-ordination of space-based services for use in disaster management

In this context, I would like to mention the important role that the European Space Agency plays. Many of the principles and goals of UNISPACE III correspond with primary goals of ESA and are the basis of its co-operation activities. Through its various programmes, ESA implements many recommendations of UNISPACE III, for example by trying to improve:

• universal access to and compatibility of space-based navigation and positioning systems

• scientific knowledge of near and outer space through co-operative activities

• the protection of the near-Earth space and outer space environments through mitigation of space debris, which increasingly affect the development of space activities.

Furthermore, ESA is the main financial contributor to the UN Programme on Space Applications, a programme which seeks to implement the recommendations of UNISPACE III by raising the awareness on the use of space technologies for the benefit of developing countries.

Mr. President,

The European Union attaches great importance to the work that is done so far and encourages all involved to continue to do so with the same effort. Bearing in mind the importance that member states, governmental and non-governmental entities attach to UNISPACE III and the synergy between UNISPACE III and the above mentioned Summits, the EU is of the opinion that adequate funding should be made available for the implementation of the recommendations.

Finally, the method of establishing priorities in the recommendations of UNISPACE III, combined with the establishment of action teams under the voluntary leadership of Member States proved to be a good mechanism for initiating the implementation process.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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

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• EU Presidency Statement - Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (12/10/2004)