One of the most important events in the 2025 space calendar takes place next week, with ESA’s Ministerial Council (CM25) convening in Bremen, Germany. While ministers from ESA’s Member States plan for the future, we delve into another chapter from the formative years of ESA and investigate the first meeting of ESA Council at Ministerial Level in 1977. What was unique about it, other than being number one? And why the question mark in the title?
The answer is in the particular circumstances under which this meeting took place, in Paris in February 1977.
Context and opening
While the meeting formally commenced at 15:00 on 14 February, the session began at 10:00 on 15 February in Room A on the fourth floor of ESA’s newly opened headquarters in rue Nikis. It was opened by the Belgian Minister Gaston Geens, who had chaired the ‘previous’ meeting - in this case, the last meeting of the European Space Conference (ESC) on 15 April 1975, at which ministers had adopted the text of the Convention for the new European Space Agency, the last step before the creation of ESA in May 1975.
The opening speech by Geens concluded with a proposal dealing with the first item on the agenda, and resulted in the election of Italian Minister Mario Pedini as Chairman. It also gave a hint of the complexities of the standing of the Ministerial in the reminder that “The Council of the Agency, which is meeting for the first time at ministerial level, has a legal status of its own which stems from the Convention under which the Agency was established”.
Following adoption of the agenda, the next address took the form of an introduction by Director General, Roy Gibson, to his report, which was the third item on the agenda.
Under the heading of ‘Level of resources for 1977-1980 and new activities’, Gibson highlighted a particular problem caused by the absence of an agreed level of resourcing – “the practical disadvantage that a unanimous vote becomes necessary for certain annual budgets” – and elaborated on the complicated and time-consuming arrangements necessary for this unanimity.
Interim years
The connection between these voting mechanisms, the difficulties encountered in brokering agreement during the meeting on the level of resources and the legal status of the ESA Council mentioned by Geens can found in the special position of the Agency in these years. Although the Convention had been signed in May 1975 by the ten states which were members of the forerunner European space organisations ESRO and ELDO, it had yet to enter into force. This took place only in 1980 with the deposit of the last instrument of ratification by France. Consequently, during the interim the Agency and its Council were, in legal terms, operating de facto – governed by under the terms of the ESRO Convention, but also taking into account the provisions of the ESA Convention to the greatest possible extent.
While adding to the complexities of the decision-making processes, the de-facto functioning also made this a unique ministerial meeting as both the first of the ESA years and because it was the only one that operated within two different Conventions. It is the latter that has prompted us to reflect on whether it could really be called the first ESA Ministerial – perhaps in reality it was more of a transitional meeting (like the first ‘ESA’ missions and satellites, built on the foundations of ESRO)?
Outcome and legacy
Despite these constraints and peculiarities, there was still business to be conducted. Reports by the Chairman of ESA Council, Wolfgang Finke, and Gibson in the 1977 ESA Annual Report give a mixed verdict on the outcome.
In his Foreword, Finke writes that “the two-day session laid down important guidelines for the future work of the Agency and for the solution of its outstanding problems, but not all of them could subsequently be implemented”.
Gibson’s Introduction gives a more detailed summary, noting that since it covered the outstanding financial, programme and other problems of the Agency:
“It is therefore not surprising that the meeting did not settle everything that several Council meetings at civil service level had failed to agree upon” [including the level of resources for the period 1978-1988]. “The ministerial meeting did, however, make a number of important decisions”.
Foremost among these, was a declaration to undertake an overall communications satellite programme and the passing of a resolution to create the Earthnet programme. Perhaps not such a poor result when seen against the background of the global economic crisis of the late 1970s, mentioned by Gibson in his report?
However, at a restricted meeting of the ESA Council which took place immediately afterwards, on 16 February, rather more frank opinions were expressed. The minutes record the Chairman’s impression that the meeting had not been a “real success’’. His suggestions for future improvements included asking ministers to approve a small number of basic decisions on major issues, with clear alternatives, “once the ground had been cleared” by ESA Council meeting at delegate level.
Many of the delegations concurred with the recommendations for a lighter agenda and smaller number of questions. Several also agreed with Finke’s thinking that it was not advisable to hold ministerial meetings too often, preferring them to take place at long intervals and in response to the need for important decisions.
Such teething problems were probably the inevitable result of it being the first of its kind. But viewed in a positive light, the 1977 Ministerial also laid the foundations for the form and timing of the meetings that followed.
Moving forward
Evidence of a pared down agenda at future ministerial meetings can be found in a comparison of the number of resolutions adopted by them. In 1977, the total amounted to seven, whereas none of the subsequent ministerial meetings during the 1980s and 1990s adopted more than three resolutions.
And as regards timing, with the benefit of hindsight we know that this was the only meeting of ESA Council at Ministerial Level during the 1970s and very nearly the only one for the first decade of ESA’s existence. The next Ministerial Council, held in Rome, would not take place until January 1985 - precisely 9 years and 8 months after the signature of the ESA Convention created the European Space Agency.
More information
More about CM25 on 26 and 27 November 2025
