The European Parliament,

- having regard to the motions for resolutions by:

(a) Mr Nielsen on space policy (B3-0005/90),

(b) Mr Robles Piquer and others on a Community centre for the universe (B3-1081/90),

- having regard to its resolutions of 25 April 1979OJ No. C 127, 21.5.1979, p. 42 on Community involvement in space research, 18 September 1981OJ No. C 260, 12.10.1981, p. 102 and 17 June 1987OJ No. C 190, 20.7.1987, p. 78 on space policy in Europe,

- having regard to the Communication from the Commission 'Towards Europe-wide systems and services - Green Paper on a common approach in the field of satellite communications in the European Community' (COM(90) 0490),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Energy, Research and Technology (A3-0265/91),

A. aware of the importance for Europe to have a strong space capability and applauding the role of the European Space Agency and the valuable contribution made by major public bodies engaged in space research and development in certain Member States,

B. aware of the leading role in space technologies of the USA and the USSR,

C. determined to exploit the competence of Europe's space industries for social, economic, ecological and political progress within the Community and to harness the technological strengths of states in Central and Eastern Europe,

D. determined to strengthen collaboration with Central and Eastern Europe in the domain of space applications,

E. desirous to place Europe's competence in space technologies at the disposal of the developing countries, particularly the ACP states, as a tool for sustainable social and economic development,

1. Calls on the Commission to bear in mind the economic and political dimension of the Community in defining and implementing successfully a comprehensive and balanced European Space Policy and in particular in ensuring optimal exploitation of space applications for the benefit of the citizens of Europe and the world;

2. Requests the Commission and the Member States to set up a space technology application network for the purpose of coordinating existing European research activities;

3. Calls on the Commission to support the development of an economic, legal and commercial environment, within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, to ensure that European space and space-derived industries, particularly those which supply launch and telecommunications services, can prosper within the Community and be competitive in the world market;

4. Calls on the Commission to elaborate comprehensive actions and submit proposals on the basis of a series of pilot programmes, such as those already carried out or planned by the Joint Research Centre, to ensure the optimal development and utilization of earth observation applications, addressing in particular:

(a) the operational use of data in support of Community policies for agriculture, environment, regional development and aid to developing countries,

(b) the development of the ground infrastructure serving various user communities, with particular reference to storage, preprocessing, validation, archiving, distribution of data, and of a consistent data policy,

(c) the development of new applications, research on data interpretation techniques and promotion of standardisation in close consultation with the Community's user and supplier industries,

(d) the definition of data requirements and priorities for Europe in consultation with users;

5. Calls on the Commission in the context of its environmental policy and actions to ensure a vigorous European participation in international programmes for the study and monitoring of the environment on a regional and global scale (e.g. Global Change), and to propose actions on the issues of European interest, in particular atmospheric pollution, the Mediterranean and the North Sea, Eastern Europe and desertification and deforestation, using the concept of a Community Green Eye in the Sky. Therefore calls on the Commission to release a suitable budgetary appropriation for the realization of the 'SPOT IV VEGETATION' programme (space monitoring of world vegetation resources) which will enable the Community to obtain the necessary information in the areas of concern to it (development aid, environment, etc.);

6. Calls on the Commission to conduct a study in the Member States of the state of university space research and the extent to which coordination takes place between businesses and universities and to make appropriate policy recommendations;

7. Calls on the Commission, Council and Member States to stimulate or initiate major international, technical and scientific cooperation in the space sector, particularly for the benefit of the developing countries and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and to give these countries access to the European Space Agency;

8. Calls on the Commission, together with the ESA, to establish the principle of participation by Third-World countries through Community commercial and technological cooperation agreements and to submit suitable proposals along these lines to Parliament and the Council;

9. Calls on the Commission to conclude immediately joint research protocols with the competent space authorities of the USSR, in order to stop enormous funds being wasted on research already carried out and effectively completed in that country;

10. Calls on the Commission to make every effort to ensure that space research is coordinated at international level by using all available knowledge, thereby saving considerable funds and avoiding unnecessary duplication;

11. Instructs its committee responsible to submit to it within two years a report on implementation of the European space policy at both Community and national level;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the European Space Agency and to those third countries which are signatories of the Convention establishing the European Space Agency.