BICOM

At a ceremony yesterday evening in Jerusalem, Israel and the European Union (EU) signed an agreement which paves the way for Israel to provide equipment and expertise contributing to the EU’s major satellite programme.

The agreement, formally known as the Cooperation Agreement on a Civil Global Navigation Satellite System, was signed on Israel’s behalf by Science, Technology and Space Minister Yaakov Peri and for the EU by Vice President of the European Commission Antonio Tyjani and incoming EU Ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen.

The agreement will give Israeli companies and personnel the opportunity to assist in the EU’s Galileo space satellite programme. EU officials expect to have thirty satellites in orbit by the end of the decade in the first civilian programme of its type. The European satellite system will carry out a range of functions: monitoring outer space, checking weather patterns and providing GPS services across the world. The satellites are set to provide greater bandwidth and coverage than previous systems. The agreement means that Israeli companies can compete for tenders to supply software and hardware to the programme and Israeli scientists will be able to participate in studies which form part of the Galileo initiative.

At the signing ceremony yesterday, Minister Peri commented, “This agreement is a milestone in relations between Israel and the EU, and shows our mutual admiration for each other’s research and development capabilities.” Israel Space Agency director Menahem Kidron said, “This agreement will enable Israeli companies to join an industry worth tens of millions of dollars, and enable Israeli researchers to widen their scope and participate in the most important projects in Europe.”

Yesterday’s agreement comes with officials from both sides currently engaged in talks to facilitate Israel’s participation in the EU’s flagship Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. These talks have been greatly complicated following the adoption of new controversial EU funding guidelines, which specify that all future EU grants and prizes are not applicable to territories captured in 1967.