Slovenia full member of European Space Agency
Slovenia became a full member of the European Space Agency (ESA) on 1 January in what is seen as a milestone that will creates opportunities for business and science,, and strengthen the country's competitiveness in the global space industry, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
This achievement is a reward for the country's successful and rapid establishment of a promising and dynamic space sector, which includes more than 40 companies, research institutes and three universities, according to Economy Ministry State Secretary Matevž Frangež.
Some of these are lead the world in niche areas of the space sector such as Earth observation and the development of innovative materials and artificial intelligence.
Space vision
Full membership marks the start of efforts to implement the national vision, whose slogan is Slovenia, Small on Earth, Big in Space. "Our vision in not only to develop space technologies but also to invest in turning space innovation into a series of civilian applications aimed at improving life on Earth," Frangež said.
Tanja Permozer, the head of the Slovenian Space Office, believes that Slovenia's full ESA membership is an important recognition that makes the country a part of the space elite while providing many strategic and economic advantages.
It allows the country to participate on an equal footing in all key ESA decisions, strengthen international cooperation, raise Slovenia's profile in the space sector, and access new programmes that step up research, development and technology commercialisation.
Full membership also paves the way for a Slovenian space agency to be established. Currently the Slovenian space sector is not yet mature enough for a national space agency. Permozer is hopeful that such an agency could be launched within five years.
Permozer would like to see even more Slovenian space companies over the next ten years. She hopes the country's sector will continue to grow so fast and make successful forays onto international markets.
More than decade of efforts
Slovenia has been cooperating with ESA since signing the Cooperation Agreement in 2009. It strengthened its cooperation in 2016 by signing an associate membership agreement, and upgraded it further in 2020, when it amended the association agreement. By ratifying the agreement on full membership in 2024 it took the last step towards full integration into ESA.
So far, Slovenia has signed more than 60 contracts with ESA, which allowed the implementation of high-tech projects run by Slovenian companies and institutions.
Slovenia's geo-return rate, by which ESA measures the performance of a country, is above one, which means that the country recovers more than 100% of the funds invested.
Full membership does come with additional financial obligations. The annual membership fee will now increase from the current €500,000 to €2.8 million. In addition, the state will pay a one-off amount of €1.7 million on joining as a full member.
