Europe adopts new space policy

BRUSSELS, May 22 (UPI) -- The European Space Council met Tuesday in Brussels and adopted a European Space Policy.

The council, consisting of ministers in charge of space activities in European Space Agency member states, said the new European Space Policy was jointly drafted by the European Commission and ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain.

Through the document, the European Union, ESA and their member states commit themselves to fostering better coordination of space activities to maximize value and avoid duplication. Increased synergy between civil and defense space programs and technologies is also addressed by the ESP.

And, among other things, the new policy supports development of a joint strategy for international relations regarding space activities, the ESA said.

Tuesday's Space Council meeting was jointly led by Germany's Parliamentary State Secretary Peter Hintze and by Maria Van Der Hoeven, the Netherlands' minister of economic affairs.