Europe, a global actor in space

The nature, scale and importance of major space programmes require international cooperation. Europe is a significant international partner providing world-class contributions to global space initiatives and leading a number of activities. Decisions on cooperation are assessed according to various criteria, such as the potential for the activity to complement European capabilities or markets and its possible contribution to EU external policies. This is particularly important when co-operative action can help sustainable development, developing countries or humanitarian aid. International co-operation is indispensable for ventures such as Earth observation, the International Space Station and most space science and exploration missions. As part of the new European Space Policy, Europe has increased efforts to speak with one voice and to coordinate actions in the international scene and towards international partners. For example, the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) jointly represent Europe in a dialogue and cooperation with the strategic partners, the U.S. and Russia, and contribute to the implementation of a joint EUAfrica Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space and closely coordinate the European participation in international fora such as the 'Group on Earth Observations' (GEO).