Enlargement of the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) was founded in 1975 when the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) merged with the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO). The ESA Convention was signed by the ESRO and ELDO members on 30 May 1975 and by Ireland on 31 December 1975. Canada signed a Cooperation Agreement on 9 December 1978. The Convention entered into force on 30 October 1980 after the ratification procedures in the 10 ESRO/ELDO members were finalised.

ESA member states, CA and ECA states:
  ESA member states
  ECS states
  Signed Cooperation Agreement
  Associated states

Current membership

The current membership of the European Space Agency includes 22 member states, four associate members and one cooperating state:

State Cooperation Agreement ECS Agreement PECS Charter ESA Convention signature Ratification[1] National Program
European Union Austria 1979 for associate membership12 April 1984[2]30 December 1986FFG
European Union Belgium ESA Founding member 30 May 19753 October 1978BELSPO
 Canada [3] 9 December 1978[4]
January 1984
May 1989
January 2000
15 December 2010[5]		 CSA
European Union Czech Republic 1996 24 November 2003 24 November 20048 July 2008[6]12 August 2008through MoT
European Union Denmark ESA Founding member 30 May 197515 September 1977DTU Space
European Union Estonia 20 June 2007[7] 10 November 2009[8] 22 September 2010[9]4 February 20151 September 2015[10]ESO
European Union Finland 1987 for associate membership22 March 1994[11]1 January 1995through MoEAE
European Union France ESA Founding member 30 May 197530 October 1980CNES
European Union Germany ESA Founding member 30 May 1975 26 July 1977 DLR
European Union Greece January 2001 N/A N/A19 July 2004[12]9 March 2005HSC
European Union Hungary April 1991[13][14] 7 April 2003[15] 1st: 5 November 2003[16]
2nd: 26 September 2008[17]
3rd: 17 October 2013[18]		24 February 20154 November 2015[19]HSO
European Union Ireland [20] ESA Founding member 31 December 1975 10 December 1980 Enterprise Ireland
European Union Italy ESA Founding member 30 May 1975 20 February 1978 ASI
European Union Latvia 23 July 2009[21] 19 March 2013[22] 30 January 2015[23] 30 June 2020[24] 9 July 2020[24][25] LSO
European Union Lithuania 7 October 2010[26] 7 October 2014[27] 28 September 2015[28] 28 April 2021[28] 20 May 2021[28] LSO
European Union Luxembourg September 2000 N/A N/A6 May 2004[29]30 June 2005LSA
European Union Netherlands ESA Founding member 30 May 1975 6 February 1979 NSO
 Norway 1981 for associate membership 12 December 1985[30] 30 December 1986 NSA
European Union Poland 28 January 1994[31] 27 April 2007[32] 28 April 2008[33]13 September 2012[34]19 November 2012POLSA
European Union Portugal 1996 N/A N/A4 October 2000[35]14 November 2000PT Space
European Union Romania December 1992[31][36] 17 February 2006[36] 16 February 2007[37]20 January 2011[38]22 December 2011ROSA
European Union Slovakia 28 April 2010[39] 16 February 2015[40] 4 February 2016[41] 14 June 2022[41] 12 October 2022[41] SSO
European Union Slovenia 28 May 2008[42] 22 January 2010[43] 30 November 2010[44] 5 July 2016[45] 1 December 2016[46] through MoHEST
European Union Spain ESA Founding member 30 May 1975 7 February 1979 AEE
European Union Sweden ESA Founding member 30 May 19756 April 1976SNSA
  Switzerland ESA Founding member 30 May 197519 November 1976SSO
 United Kingdom ESA Founding member 30 May 1975 28 March 1978 UKSA

Associate members

The ESA Convention does not require acquisition of the status of an associate member in order for a state to become a full member. The association status is envisaged to allow associate member states to take part in ESA's deliberative bodies and decision-making and also in ESA's programmes and activities. Associate member state firms can bid for and receive contracts to work on programmes. The accord has a provision ensuring a fair industrial return to the associate members.[47]

Previously, associate members were Austria, Norway and Finland (through its Ministry of Trade and Industry[48]), all of which later joined ESA as full members.[49] Portugal, Greece and Luxembourg skipped associate membership and moved from Cooperation Agreements to full ESA membership. The Czech Republic also skipped associate membership, but it went through the new enlargement process via Cooperation Agreement, ECS Agreement and PECS Charter implementation.

Currently there are four associate members: Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia and Slovenia.[24][28][41][45]

Despite that the provisions in the ESA Convention do not show restrictions that only European states can join,[50] the ESA Council implements such rule de facto and that is why Canada has only the status of a cooperating state.[3] However, it is as tightly integrated with the ESA institutions as possible for a non-member state.

The ELDO associate member Australia (CSIRO) decided not to continue as an associate member of ESA. Nevertheless, on 5 March 2003 the first of ESA's deep space ground stations in the world opened in Western Australia in an inauguration ceremony.[51]

Enlargement
  ESA member countries
  2nd stage: ECS states
  1st stage: signed Cooperation Agreement
  Observer state negotiating cooperation agreement
  ESA associate members

After the decision of the ESA Council of 21/22 March 2001 the procedure for accession of the European states was detailed as described here.[52] Nations who want to become a full member of ESA do so in 3 stages. First a Cooperation Agreement is signed between the country and ESA. In this stage the country has very limited financial responsibilities. If a country wants to cooperate more fully with ESA it signs a European Cooperating State (ECS) agreement.

The ECS Agreement makes companies based in the country eligible for participation in ESA procurements. The country can also participate in all ESA programmes, except for the Basic Technology Research Programme. While the financial contribution of the country concerned increases, it is still much lower than that of a full member state. The agreement is normally followed by a Plan for European Cooperating State (or PECS Charter).

This is a 5-year program of basic research and development activities aimed at improving the nations' space industry capacity. At the end of the 5-year period, the country can either begin negotiations to become a full member state or an associated state or sign a new PECS Charter.[53] ESA is likely to expand quite rapidly in the coming years. Many countries, most of which joined the EU in both 2004 and 2007, have started to cooperate with ESA on various levels.

Progress of all the states that have taken or are taking part in the enlargement process
Applicant state Cooperation Agreement ECS Agreement PECS Charter ESA Convention signature Full Membership[1] National Program
European Union Austria 1979 for associate membership 12 April 1984 30 December 1986 FFG
 Norway 1981 for associate membership 12 December 1985 30 December 1986 NSA
European Union Finland 1987 for associate membership 22 March 1994 1 January 1995 through MoEAE
European Union Portugal 1996 NA NA 4 October 2000 14 November 2000 PT Space
European Union Greece January 2001 NA NA 19 July 2004 9 March 2005 HSC
European Union Luxembourg September 2000 NA NA 6 May 2004 30 June 2005 LSA
European Union Czechia 1996 24 November 2003 24 November 2004 8 July 2008 12 August 2008 through MoT
European Union Romania December 1992 17 February 2006 16 February 2007 20 January 2011 23 December 2011 ROSA
European Union Poland 28 January 1994 27 April 2007 28 April 2008 13 September 2012 19 November 2012 POLSA
European Union Estonia 20 June 2007 10 November 2009 22 September 2010 4 February 2015 1 September 2015 ESO
European Union Hungary April 1991 7 April 2003 1st:
5 November 2003 2nd:
26 September 2008 3rd:
17 October 2013		 24 February 2015 4 November 2015 HSO
European Union Slovenia 28 May 2008 22 January 2010 30 November 2010 5 July 2016 1 December 2016 through MoHEST
European Union Latvia 23 July 2009 19 March 2013 30 January 2015 30 June 2020 27 July 2020 LSO
European Union Lithuania 7 October 2010 7 October 2014 28 September 2015 28 April 2021 21 May 2021 LSO
European Union Slovakia 28 April 2010 16 February 2015 4 February 2016 14 June 2022 13 October 2022 SSO
European Union Bulgaria NA 8 April 2015[54] 4 February 2016[55] SRTI
European Union Cyprus 27 August 2009[56] 6 July 2016[57] 2017[58] through MoCW
European Union Croatia 19 February 2018[59] 23 March 2023[60] through MoSE
 Turkey 15 July 2004[61] TUA
 Ukraine 25 January 2008[62] SSAU
 Israel 30 January 2011[63] ISA
European Union Malta 20 February 2012[64] MCST[65]

Possible future cooperation

The political perspective of the European Union (EU) had been to make ESA an agency of the EU by 2014,[66] however, this date was not met. The EU is already the largest single donor to ESA's budget and non-ESA EU states are observers at ESA.

Three non-EU nations — Israel, Turkey and Ukraine — have cooperation agreements with ESA. Agency officials consider the prospects of full membership for these three countries as remote at the current time.

However, ESA ministers instructed agency officials to begin discussions with Australia, Israel and South Africa on future association agreements with ESA. The ministers noted that “concrete cooperation is at an advanced stage” with these nations and that “prospects for mutual benefits are existing”.[67]

Besides EU countries, the EFTA members Norway and Switzerland are also members of ESA. Neither the remaining EFTA member states of Iceland and Liechtenstein nor the EU candidates not listed above have publicly expressed their intention to participate in the European Space Agency's activities.

In 2016, certain ESA programs were extended to Eastern Partnership member states. Armenia, Georgia and Moldova joined the ESA's Earth Observation for Eastern Partnership initiative. This move brought new perspectives to develop cooperation between the ESA and Eastern European countries. The project aims to achieve an increase in the uptake of satellite-based environmental information, while promoting regional cooperation and knowledge exchange.[68][69]

See also

References
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