Minister Kupka attended a meeting of the Council of the European Space Agency ESA22/11/2022|Press releasesA summit meeting of the European Space Agency (ESA) Council at ministerial level was held in Paris in the presence of transport minister Martin Kupka. Delegates from 31 countries discussed the priorities of the European Space Agency for the coming years, the use of space technology in industry and the budget for ESA's science and technology programmes. "The Czech Republic is aware of the strategic importance of space activities for our economy, technological progress and European security. That is why our active role in ESA is so important. It also represents a great opportunity for our companies that can work on high-tech projects whose complexity, challenges and total cost exceed the capabilities of the Czech Republic alone," says transport minister Martin Kupka. Investments in space activities are characterised by a high rate of return. "A relatively conservative estimate is that the benefits from CZK 1 invested in space activities in the Czech Republic will amount to CZK 7-8. This ultimately means billions of crowns more for the state budget," Kupka said. The Czech Republic continues to deliver on space activities National Space Plan 2020-2025. For next year we expect to increase the financial contribution to ESA optional programmes by around €2 million. Our priority is active participation of the Czech Republic and our companies in launch vehicle programmes, space security, satellite telecommunications and Earth observation. Minister Kupka, as the representative of the EU Presidency, also informed his colleagues about the agreement reached on the Regulation establishing the EU Secure Connectivity Programme for the period 2023-2027. "Secure and reliable communication is a cornerstone of the European Union's strategic autonomy. Within Secure Connectivity a constellation of hundreds of satellites that will cover the EU's needs for secure and reliable communications services and bring many benefits to citizens in their daily lives will be built," Kupka said. "We also consider it crucial to intensify cooperation between ESA, the European Commission and the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) to maximise the benefits of European space programmes," Kupka added. The Czech Republic has been a full member of ESA since 2008 and carries out most of its space activities through ESA. Since then, there has been a significant increase in the participation of Czech industry in space projects involving more than 50 companies working directly with ESA, dozens of Czech subcontractors and 23 scientific institutes and universities. Under the leadership of the Department of Transportation, a functioning ecosystem has been created to support the development and use of space activities, including the ESA BIC Czech Republic business incubator that supports the transfer of promising technological ideas into practice and is operated by CzechInvest and inthe ESERO space activities education centre.