Malta becomes ESA European Cooperating State
Malta became an ESA European Cooperating State (ECS) on 12 September when the European Cooperating State Agreement signed earlier in 2023 came into force.
On behalf of ESA Member States, Eric Morel de Westgaver, then ESA Director of European, Legal and International Matters, signed an ECS Agreement with Keith Azzopardi Tanti, Parliament Secretary for Youth, Science & Research of the Government of the Republic of Malta, on 25 October 2023.
ESA was notified of the ratification on 8 July 2024. The ECS Agreement entered into force on signature of, and subscription to, the PECS Charter by Malta on 12 September, already signed by ESA on 22 July and representing a significant milestone in the bilateral relations, and a starting point for an enhanced cooperation. Concrete implementation has already started, since five space projects will be undertaken out of the first call handled in the agency’s framework. A PECS information day, offering insights on applying for ESA tenders, took place on 18 October 2024 in Valetta. The next call will open in early January, with over €1.5 million in funding opportunities available for 2025.
This ECS Agreement and PECS Charter succeed the Cooperation Agreement signed in Valetta on 20 February 2012 by Karlheinz Kreuzberg, then Head of ESA Director General’s Cabinet, and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST), whch was later extended, and an implementing arrangement was signed by the ESA Director General Jan Wörner with Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando on 15 March 2018. Five-year National Trainee Agreements were also concluded in 2012 and 2019, allowing young Maltese professionals to work in ESA establishments.
Space activities promoted and coordinated by MCST were funded through the National Space Fund, which was split into the Space Research Fund and the Space Education Programme. Experts from ESA’s Earth Observation directorate, Education Office, External Relations, and Industrial Policy departments supported the Maltese teams in their preparations and guided the implementation of space projects carried out in that context.
On 1 July, Clifton Grima, Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, and Keith Azzopardi Tanti publicly launched Xjenza Malta, the government agency responsible for promoting and coordinating scientific research, technological innovation and science communication in Malta. Xjenza Malta acts as the national R&D and space founding agency and the policy development and implementation body in these areas. It also operates the Esplora interactive science centre.
Xjenza Malta joined the International Astronautical Federation at 75th IAC, held in Milan in October 2024, demonstrating their intent to strengthen Malta’s international visibility, while advancing the implementation of their National Space Strategy 2022-27, with a view to further foster collaboration and innovation in the European space industry. On that occasion, Senior Director Omar Cutajar restated Xjenza Malta’s commitment to further advancing and supporting the emergence of the local space sector.
Enhancing their role within the European and global space community, providing new and exclusive opportunities for cooperation, knowledge exchange, and technological progress for the local emerging Space research, technological and ancillary commercial sectors are key objectives. Opportunities for the internationalisation of space business and cross-border cooperation, beginning with R&D activities, are also stimulated through ESA.
PECS celebrates 20th anniversary
The 12 current and former European Cooperating States had convened in Cyprus on 25 October 2023 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ECS scheme, share lessons learned and state their expectations. The ECS Agreement with Malta was signed on that occasion.
It was acknowledged that PECS, an enhanced cooperation framework adopted by ESA Council in 2001, has greatly facilitated the integration of new entrants to ESA and the inclusion of their industrial capacities in the European supply chain, building on their respective legacies and offering a unique approach to innovation. Ahead of the 2004 EU enlargement, PECS was pioneered by Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Former ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain, together with the Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness Géraldine Naja and Éric Morel de Westgaver, now Director of Strategy, Legal and External affairs, recalled that PECS had led to the accession to the ESA Convention of the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia, with the latter transitioning to ESA full membership (to be effective on 1 January 2025), a decade after the previous two accessions and on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Convention.
Through the ‘Resolution on industrial policy measures to achieve a successful integration of European States in the frame of ESA’, adopted by Council on 13 December 2018, an improved cooperative approach designed for European states with a view to their possible accession to the Convention was introduced. PECS measures were key in supporting a successful transition to associate membership for Slovenia (2016), Latvia (2020), Lithuania (2021) and Slovakia (2022). New ECS Agreements with Bulgaria and Cyprus entered into force in 2022 and with Croatia in 2023.
Following on from the Budapest workshop held in October 1999 and the adoption of a joint space strategy on 16 November 2000, the establishment of PECS also played a significant role in strengthening ESA-EU collaboration. Besides supporting industrial competitiveness, it also promoted a balanced and inclusive approach in terms of programmes and activities (‘Space for everyone’), enabling the emergence of innovative downstream services and complementing the further development of the upstream sector.
20th anniversary of the ESA-EU Framework Agreement
The 20th anniversary of the ESA-EU Framework Agreement was celebrated on 22 May as an event held on the sidelines of the 2024 Space Council, which took place in Brussels the following day. Leveraging successful PECS results, many SMEs and startups took advantage of funding opportunities under the EU’s successive Horizon framework programmes for research and innovation. A workshop was organised by Xjenza Malta in Kalkara on 9 October in collaboration with EUSPA, ‘Space as an enabler for governmental services. Showcasing the potential for maritime and security services’.
ESA has now established formal relations with all EU members that are not Member States of the agency. The PECS Committee now comprises Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta. Over the past few years, Malta has participated in such meetings as an observer. A member of the EU since 1 May 2004, they received an observer status in official meetings of ESA Council, International Relations Committee, Programme Board for Earth Observation, in particular, for matters of common interest (e.g. Galileo, Copernicus and Iris2).