site.btaBulgarian Innovations Minister Participates in EU Informal Competitiveness Council Meeting

Bulgarian Innovation and Growth Minister Daniel Lorer took part in an informal EU Competitiveness Council Meeting on Space in Toulouse, the Bulgarian Economy Ministry reported on Thursday. The participants in the meeting discussed space traffic management and the future satellite-based connectivity system proposed by the EU.

The meeting was attended by the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, among others.

The EU laid out plans to build a satellite-based secure connectivity system and intensifies its work regarding the management of space traffic for a more sustainable Europe.

Minister Lorer stressed that Bulgaria supports the new initiatives and insists that all EU members should be able to participate in commercial and research projects under the programmes. According to him, the new initiatives require market approach and support from the private sector.

Bulgaria acknowledges the growing influence of space technologies and that they provide new business opportunities and strategic assets for EU and its citizens, Lorer said.

The total cost of the space project is estimated at 6 billion euro. The EU's contribution to the Programme from 2022 until 2027 is 2.4 billion euro at current prices. The funding will come from different sources of the public sector (EU budget, Member States, European Space Agency's (ESA) contributions) and private sector investments.