Paris hosted last 23 October 2008 the 22nd meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC) of the European Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (Eutelsat IGO), chaired by Spain and attended by all members of the AC: Spain, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
The Committee received a report from the Executive Secretary (ES) concerning the activities of that body since the last meeting, in March 2008, and covering, among others, some of the issues then debated, such as:
- Fulfilment of the Base Principles: the ES considers that the information it has concerning the business and finances of Intelsat SA allows belief that the company has the conditions to continue complying with its obligations deriving from the Base Principles for the long term, despite the current financial crisis; the ES also warned of a possible tendency to expand the concept of universal telecommunications service to access to broadband internet services - the issue was specifically raised in the EC's recent report on the scope of universal telecommunications service - and how far this may affect the definition of the Base Principles;
- Eutelsat's participation as an observer in the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS): the last meeting of that committee in June decided to grant Eutelsat the status of permanent observer.
The Committee also reviewed a report concerning financial results from the previous year (July 2007-June 2008), framed in the budget approved by the 35th Assembly of Parties (AP). Spending below what was budgeted was recorded for some items. Also considered was the budget for the current year (July 2008-June 2009) presented by the ES. This proposal, which followed the budgets approved for previous years with the necessary updates and corrections, was approved by the AC.
In the wake of the previous Committee meeting, one of the issues that received the most attention was the new French space law, meanwhile approved on 3 June. For this agenda point representatives of Eutelsat SA and the consultant the ES asked to study the impact of the law in question participated in part of the meeting, which continued the discussion from the previous AC meeting.
The law approved by the parliament will be complemented by additional legislation to be approved by the French government, in principle by the end of 2008, specifically a decree determining the authorisation process and a number of technical regulations associated to same. It was generally considered that the version of the approved law is improved with respect to the initially disclosed version, although the main benefits are for the launcher (specifically Ariane Espace), while for Eutelsat the improvement will be quite limited. The main aspect of note is that an individual licence is no longer necessary for any operation of a space object in orbit. The licensing system will henceforth envisage a general licence for operating orbital satellites for accredited operators, although individual licences will still be required for each launch. There is also a status guarantee in the case of damage caused in orbit or during a launch from French territory; this is not applied to launches abroad, although the operator's obligations are maintained in such cases. Eutelsat SA questioned such obligations when there is nothing in return, and suggested that the solution might be in agreements between France and the countries where other launchers operate, so that the conditions and guarantees applied to launches in various countries can be equivalent.
Various important aspects nevertheless remain open, depending on what is contained in the addition legislation to be published, so it is still hard to assess the law's total impact. Eutelsat SA should be involved in the process of producing at least part of that legislation (for example, the technical regulations), although it is still not clear whether this will happen.
The Eutelsat SA representatives again indicated that their European competitors are not subject to obligations equivalent to those deriving from this law for the company. They expressed their continued support for the development of the European space industry, specifically Ariane Espace. They are said to be its second biggest customer, but should not be penalised when they have to seek alternatives for commercial reasons, such as, for example, when no Ariane Espace launches are available or the the price for its services is not competitive.
Also presented was the preliminary report from the study ordered by the ES as agreed at the 21st AC meeting. This study covers issues such as the eventual loss of company competitiveness as a consequence of the law and possible impact on compliance with the Base Principles; the law's compatibility with the Eutelsat IGO Convention; and the legal viability of Eutelsat IGO taking responsibility for damages caused by Eutelsat SA in replacement of France, which currently assumes such responsibilities.
The said report led to a number of questions and clarification requests. It was specifically noted that the report was not distributed with sufficient time to allow careful study before the meeting. France was in particular very critical of the report, which it considered to be not unbiased and to make a mistaken interpretation of the law. As such, it asked more studies to be conducted and for more information to enable evaluation of all consequences of the proposals presented in the report. The report's final version should also take into account any additional legislation approved. Lastly, the Committee requested that the final result of the study should be provided to the AC members with sufficient time for suitable analysis before the next meeting.
The Committee also debated a point proposed by Portugal - renewal of the Executive Secretary's mandate. The current ES's mandate expires in July 2009; the Assembly of Parties has envisaged no process with a view to his replacement. In this regard, and given that same has manifested his interest in another term, the AP's acting president sent a letter to the organisation's members proposing that his mandate be renewed at the next Assembly (May 2009). The alternative would be to summon an extraordinary AP to approve the launch of a formal election process to take place at the May AP. Portugal considered that the question should be subject to more formal treatment and proposed that same should be considered by the AC as the only body that operates between Assemblies, with a view to eventually determining a more formal procedure.
The AC members generally shared Portugal's concerns regarding the interest in establishing a more formal and transparent process, which might also provide more legal guarantees to the decision eventually made by the AP. In this regard, and benefiting from the presence in the AC of the AP's acting president, it was suggested to him that a process should begin which would basically mean asking the Members to follow the format for disclosing and collecting candidacies that was adopted by the AP to choose the current ES (letter sent by the AP president to the Parties). If there are objections to that proposal then an extraordinary AP should be summoned to determine the procedure to follow.
The next Advisory Committee meeting has been scheduled for 11-12 March 2009.
