Home » Italy-France Treaty, which means for aerospace

Italy-France Treaty, which means for aerospace

by admin

There is a space agreement between Italy and France that accompanies the Quirinal Treaty. It’s about launchers carrying satellites into orbit. It was signed on Friday November 26 by ministers Vittorio Colao (Technological innovation) and Bruno Le Maire (Economics) after a night of fine-tuning, at the end of three months of “intense negotiations,” says a joint statement. The agreement, explains an authoritative source, provides for new investments by the two countries to strengthen the competitiveness of the Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers, the first developed by ArianeGroup (a company controlled by Safran and Airbus) in Northern France and Germany, the second from the Italian Avio to Colleferro. For both, the first flight is scheduled for next year from Kourou, in French Guiana, in March the Vega C, in mid-2022 the great Ariane 6, in which Avio also collaborates for 10% of the program.

Key sector space for Italy and France

«The ministers – says the communiqué – recognize that space is a key sector for competitiveness and constitutes a prerequisite for the strategic capabilities of both states. Europe’s autonomous access to space must be preserved and strengthened. The Italian-French agreement on launchers consolidates the cooperation between the two countries (…), based on the future Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers, so that Europe can fully play its role as a leader in a constantly evolving sector . In particular, this agreement lays the foundations for greater competitiveness of both liquid and solid propulsion thanks to industrial optimization and enhanced cooperation agreed by the working groups ”.

See also  Company - Train drivers' union GDL wants to provide information about a collective bargaining dispute at the railway

The question of internet satellites

The agreement also provides for further “technological developments that will allow Ariane to be positioned on the emerging market of mega-constellations and recognizes the Italian ambition in earth observation”. An issue dear to EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who would like to launch a European constellation with at least 600 satellites, for internet connection, telecommunications, military communications. “This morning we seal an important space agreement, which gives a new impetus to this industry which is so important to our civilian and military activities,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. Prime Minister Mario Draghi observed: “Just as we were signing the treaty, a cooperation agreement on the subject of space between Italy and France was concluded, the result of intense negotiations that led to a successful result”. Italy and France – according to Colao – “have different skills but share the need to be more efficient, to involve private companies, startups, the whole world of data analytics (…) and the agreement on launchers is an important part because it puts the foundations for the next ten years of working together “.

Germany “invited” for a new agreement

The Treaty states that for access to space Italy and France support “the principle of a European preference through the development, evolution and coordinated, balanced and sustainable use of the Ariane and Vega institutional launchers”. There is a call to bilateral cooperation “at an industrial, scientific and technological level, in particular within the framework of the EU and the European Space Agency”. On March 19, 2021 in Rome, Le Maire had said, after a meeting at Mise with Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti: «With Giorgetti we have decided to set up an Italian-French working group on space launchers. It will be a three-way agreement between Italy, France and Germany. We aim to reach an agreement with Germany by July ». However, the Germans are not there. “It has already been difficult to make a two-way deal,” observes a senior space industry member.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy