On 1 and 2 December 2016, as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ministerial board in Lucerne, the Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister Étienne Schneider met with the president of the Swiss Confederation, Johann Schneider-Ammann, to discuss the SpacesResources.lu initiative and the Rifkin study.
Last week, at the ESA’s ministerial board in Lucerne in Switzerland, the president of the Swiss Confederation, Johann Schneider-Ammann, asked to meet with Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Étienne Schneider, to talk about the SpaceResources.lu initiative and the Rifkin procedure. The Rifkin strategic study is preparing Luxembourg’s transition to new production and consumption models which should also lead to a better quality of life.
At the end of the meeting, Étienne Schneider stated that: "Sharing similarities with the Grand Duchy in many sectors, Switzerland has shown a keen interest in the strategic study for more sustainable economic development in Luxembourg by increasing opportunities linked to digitisation, energy transition and alternative forms of mobility.”
During the meeting, the Luxembourg Minister of the Economy and the President of the Swiss Confederation agreed to explore different forms of potential cooperation between the two countries in the framework of SpaceResources.lu. This matter will be discussed further at another meeting soon to take place.
Organised every three years, the ministerial board brings together 22 ministers in charge of space-related matters from ESA’s 22 Member states. Its aim is to determine the direction which Europe should take regarding space by defining new programmes to be launched and fixing allocated budgets.
Photo by MECO. From left to right: Étienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy; Johann Schneider-Ammann, President of the Swiss Confederation
