Bodrato (PPE-DE). – (IT) Mr President, I welcomed the timeliness and the quality of the action plan presented to us for implementing the European space policy. This policy was re-launched when the United States reworked its strategy and when the ESA and NASA reported exceptional successes that excited the world. Space policy is crucial for international cooperation in research, for the Lisbon strategy and for guaranteeing Europe’s independent access to space. The plan that we are discussing is of a horizontal nature in that it concerns many Community policies, from agriculture to communications. After the Galileo project we are awaiting the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security project. I share the desire to pool investment resources to achieve objectives that no country can achieve on its own, and I agree with the intention to take a more determined approach towards coordinating research, technological innovation and industrial policy.

There are two issues, however, that I urge the Commissioner to take note of. The first concerns the repercussions, for the European programme, of the new strategy established by the most important space power in the world, with which we have strong ties in terms of collaboration. The second concerns the discrepancies between Europe’s ambitions and the resources needed to implement the most important part of the space programme, and this seems to be the issue that the White Paper has left open. The complex issues influencing this programme do indeed concern the constituent process as regards the competences for space and common defence, but also the political decisions, both national and Community, that are called for to make the European economy more competitive.