TALLINN, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is very much open to future developments and discussions of space programs with other partners, a European commissioner said here on Tuesday.
"There was some discussions of cooperation programs under the frame of China and the European Space Agency (ESA). Now ESA member states and the European Commission needs to be stronger and build our own capacity," Elzbieta Bienkowska, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), said at a press briefing after the EU-ESA informal space ministerial meeting.
ESA programs are mainly for European companies who stay in Europe and are to be developed in Europe, Bienkowska said, adding that space programs are not what any state can build on its own.
She emphasized that space programs aim to use the opportunities of space data for the best possible way to create "enormous" number of jobs for the young people and build up the economy state.
The space data is used in analyzing hurricanes, climate change, earthquakes and quality of air, while clear immigration pictures were also taken for border monitoring, she added.
Earlier, delegates from Romania and Austria told Xinhua that China's space industry development were "impressive", hoping for potential future cooperation with China in the space sector.
The EU-ESA informal space ministerial meeting focused on the evolutions of the European Earth Observation Program Copernicus beyond 2020.
