site.btaInnovation Minister: Bulgaria Views Space as Strategic Asset

Innovation and Growth Minister Milena Stoycheva stated that Bulgaria views space as a strategic asset which contributes to the creation of new markets and business opportunities for industry and to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. She addressed the Competitiveness Council (Research and space) in Brussels on December 8, her Ministry said.

Stoycheva and Ivanka Tasheva, Bulgaria's Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU, headed the Bulgarian delegation to the Space Part of the Council.

Europe should maintain a leading position in the provision of space data and services by stepping up its efforts to strengthen its space programmes and creating mechanisms to stimulate a successful European space industry, Stoycheva said. Regarding the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence, Bulgaria considers it important to have a common framework for security and sustainability in space, which ensures a consistent pan-European approach while preserving the civilian nature of the programmes and services offered.

To ensure autonomous EU access to space, a workable service-oriented model should be found, based on a new procurement approach and an improved competition framework, Stoycheva said.