Oggi la politica spaziale europea diventa realtà   ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and Valérie Pécresse, French Minister of Education and Research, at the Fourth Space Council Meeting held in Brussels on 22 May 2007.   Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) is the response to Europe's need for geo-spatial information services. The initiative provides autonomous and independent access to information for policy-makers, particularly in relation to environment and security. ESA, as main partner to the European Union in GMES, is working on multi-mission facilities and ground segment operations and is preparing the Space Component for GMES with a series of studies and preparatory activities for the development of a series of satellites missions, the Sentinels, and the integration of national and European missions to guarantee continuity of data and services.   Participants of the fourth Space Council, held in Brussels on 22 May 2007. Release date: 24 Maggio 2007