Article 8 Coordination and facilitation of cooperative activities

The coordination and facilitation of cooperative activities under this Agreement shall be accomplished by regular joint and concomitant meetings of the Council of the European Union and of the Council of ESA at ministerial level (Space Council).

The objectives of the joint and concomitant meetings shall include the following:

A Secretariat shall assist the concomitant meetings and shall elaborate the initiatives deriving from the implementation of this Agreement. The Secretariat shall implement the guidelines provided by the concomitant meetings of the two Councils. The Secretariat shall establish its own rules of procedure and be composed of officials of the Commission of the European Communities and of the ESA Executive. The Parties shall undertake, in accordance with their respective rules and procedures, to contribute to the required administrative support.

Without prejudice to the Parties' internal decision-making procedures, the Secretariat shall consult on a regular and informal basis high-level representatives of the Member States of the European Community and of the European Space Agency, with the purpose of reaching common understanding on issues related to the implementation of this Agreement.