On 27 May the Ministers responsible for space activities in the 15 Member States of the European Space Agency ESA, and of Canada will meet in Paris, at ESAÕs Head Office, to take decisions on the restructuring of the Ariane launcher sector, to restore the competitiveness of Ariane 5 and to take further steps in the preparation of future launchers.
This Programme outlines the decision at stake at this important meeting.
This pre-event Exchange comprises of a 3 minute A-roll with split audio (English commentary/international sound) and is complimented by a 12-minute B-Roll with clean international sound.

Ministerial Conference Pre-event VNR 27/05/03 : ACCESS TO SPACE TODAY : WHAT DOES EUROPE NEED ? TC
10.00.40 : GV's ext Paris HQ
Europe's future in space will be under discussion today, when ministers from the European Space Agency's 15 member states and Canada meet at their Paris headquarters.
10.00.58 : GV's Edinburgh conference + GV's failure of V157
ESA's last Ministerial Conference was held in Edinburgh in November 2001. Since then, the European space industry has seen a slump in the commercial satellite launch market. In December 2002, it also suffered the failure of the maiden flight of the new 10 ton Ariane 5. TC 10.01.10 : GFX development Ariane 5 10 tonnes
To guarantee Europe's independent access to space, exceptional measures must now be taken. Nearly 1 billion Euros will be set aside to ensure the survival of Europe's launch programme, and to complete the development of the 10 ton Ariane 5. To ensure cost-effectiveness, a single industrial prime contractor will be appointed for lau