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The
European Space Agency is asking its 22 member nations to come up
with 18.5 billion euros ($19.06 billion) to fund rocket
launches, satellites and Europe's participation in planetary
research for 2023-25 but the triennial talks have become
entangled in economic uncertainty.
"We are getting there; the total is coming up nicely. It may not
get all the way there but (we) will be close," a delegate from a
major contributing country said as officials entered the latest
in an exhausting series of funding negotiations on Wednesday.
Nations were still struggling to pin down detailed funding of
Europe's Ariane and Vega rocket launch network, he said.
The European grouping, whose Ariane rocket pioneered commercial
launches but now faces intense competition from Elon Musk's
SpaceX, is seeking to maintain a key role in space while
balancing the political constraints of its large and small
nations.
The funding exercise in a hangar-like temporary conference
centre near the Eiffel Tower involves back-to-back rounds in
which nations chip in to areas like exploration or observation,
and then individual projects in return for industrial work.
Ministers and officials took their horse-trading into a dinner
reception at the Paris Opera on Tuesday and then into the night
as several nations organised "splinter meetings".
"They are shifting money around; that is what is going on at the
moment," said a second person familiar with the 36-hour
marathon.
In 2019, ESA nations adopted a budget of 14.5 billion euros,
meaning the agency is asking for a roughly 25% increase spread
over three years.
Small countries were seen as making painful efforts to come up
with budgets guaranteeing new skilled jobs under ESA's
quid-pro-quo "fair return" system as the deadline neared for a
deal.
"Every figure is committing nations; it is not just an Excel
spreadsheet," the second person added.
In a joint declaration on Tuesday, Europe's big three space
launch nations - France, Germany and Italy - opened the door to
a new generation of microlaunchers and a future review of
funding rules in the face of U.S. and Chinese space ambitions.
ESA Director General Josef Ashbacher said late on Tuesday that
the politically significant move had "unlocked" negotiations
among other nations, but detailed talks were still needed to
translate that into funding under the current system.
($1 = 0.9709 euros)
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Richard Lough)
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