# Enlargement of the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) was founded in 1975 when the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) merged with the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO). The ESA Convention was signed by the ESRO and ELDO members on 30 May 1975 and by Ireland on 31 December 1975. Canada signed a Cooperation Agreement on 9 December 1978. The Convention entered into force on 30 October 1980 after the ratification procedures in the 10 ESRO/ELDO members were finalised.

## Current membership

The current membership of the European Space Agency includes 23 member states, three associate members and one cooperating state:
| State | Cooperation Agreement | ECS Agreement | PECS Charter | ESA Convention signature | Ratification | National Program |
| Austria | 1979 for associate membership | 1979 for associate membership | 1979 for associate membership | 12 April 1984 | 30 December 1986 | FFG |
| Belgium | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 3 October 1978 | BELSPO |
| Canada | 9 December 1978 January 1984 May 1989 January 2000 15 December 2010 | | | | | CSA |
| Czechia | 1996 | 24 November 2003 | 24 November 2004 | 8 July 2008 | 12 August 2008 | through MoT |
| Denmark | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 15 September 1977 | DTU Space |
| Estonia | 20 June 2007 | 10 November 2009 | 22 September 2010 | 4 February 2015 | 1 September 2015 | ESO |
| Finland | 1987 for associate membership | 1987 for associate membership | 1987 for associate membership | 22 March 1994 | 1 January 1995 | through MoEAE |
| France | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 30 October 1980 | CNES |
| Germany | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 26 July 1977 | DLR |
| Greece | January 2001 | N/A | N/A | 19 July 2004 | 9 March 2005 | HSC |
| Hungary | April 1991 | 7 April 2003 | 1st: 5 November 2003 2nd: 26 September 2008 3rd: 17 October 2013 | 24 February 2015 | 4 November 2015 | HSO |
| Ireland | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 31 December 1975 | 10 December 1980 | Enterprise Ireland |
| Italy | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 20 February 1978 | ASI |
| Latvia | 23 July 2009 | 19 March 2013 | 30 January 2015 | | | LSO |
| Lithuania | 7 October 2010 | 7 October 2014 | 28 September 2015 | | | LSO |
| Luxembourg | September 2000 | N/A | N/A | 6 May 2004 | 30 June 2005 | LSA |
| Netherlands | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 6 February 1979 | NSO |
| Norway | 1981 for associate membership | 1981 for associate membership | 1981 for associate membership | 12 December 1985 | 30 December 1986 | NSA |
| Poland | 28 January 1994 | 27 April 2007 | 28 April 2008 | 13 September 2012 | 19 November 2012 | POLSA |
| Portugal | 1996 | N/A | N/A | 4 October 2000 | 14 November 2000 | PT Space |
| Romania | December 1992 | 17 February 2006 | 16 February 2007 | 20 January 2011 | 22 December 2011 | ROSA |
| Slovakia | 28 April 2010 | 16 February 2015 | 4 February 2016 | | | SSO |
| Slovenia | 28 May 2008 | 22 January 2010 | 30 November 2010 | 18 June 2024 | 1 January 2025 | through MoHEST |
| Spain | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 7 February 1979 | AEE |
| Sweden | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 6 April 1976 | SNSA |
| Switzerland | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 19 November 1976 | SSO |
| United Kingdom | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | ESA Founding member | 30 May 1975 | 28 March 1978 | UKSA |

## Associate members

The ESA Convention does not require acquisition of the status of an associate member in order for a state to become a full member. The association status is envisaged to allow associate member states to take part in ESA's deliberative bodies and decision-making and also in ESA's programmes and activities. Associate member state firms can bid for and receive contracts to work on programmes. The accord has a provision ensuring a fair industrial return to the associate members.
Previously, associate members were Austria, Norway and Finland (through its Ministry of Trade and Industry), all of which later joined ESA as full members. Portugal, Greece and Luxembourg skipped associate membership and moved from Cooperation Agreements to full ESA membership. The Czech Republic also skipped associate membership, but it went through the new enlargement process via Cooperation Agreement, ECS Agreement and PECS Charter implementation.
Currently there are three associate members: Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.
Despite that the provisions in the ESA Convention do not show restrictions that only European states can join, the ESA Council implements such rule de facto and that is why Canada has only the status of a cooperating state. However, it is as tightly integrated with the ESA institutions as possible for a non-member state.
The ELDO associate member Australia (CSIRO) decided not to continue as an associate member of ESA. Nevertheless, on 5 March 2003 the first of ESA's deep space ground stations in the world opened in Western Australia in an inauguration ceremony.

## Enlargement

After the decision of the ESA Council of 21/22 March 2001 the procedure for accession of the European states was detailed as described here. Nations who want to become a full member of ESA do so in 3 stages. First a Cooperation Agreement is signed between the country and ESA. In this stage the country has very limited financial responsibilities. If a country wants to cooperate more fully with ESA it signs a European Cooperating State (ECS) agreement.
The ECS Agreement makes companies based in the country eligible for participation in ESA procurements. The country can also participate in all ESA programmes, except for the Basic Technology Research Programme. While the financial contribution of the country concerned increases, it is still much lower than that of a full member state. The agreement is normally followed by a Plan for European Cooperating State (or PECS Charter).
This is a 5-year program of basic research and development activities aimed at improving the nations' space industry capacity. At the end of the 5-year period, the country can either begin negotiations to become a full member state or an associated state or sign a new PECS Charter. ESA is likely to expand quite rapidly in the coming years. Many countries, most of which joined the EU in both 2004 and 2007, have started to cooperate with ESA on various levels.
Progress of all the states that have taken or are taking part in the enlargement process :
| Applicant state | Cooperation Agreement | ECS Agreement | PECS Charter | ESA Convention signature | Full Membership | National Program |
| Austria | 1979 for associate membership | 1979 for associate membership | 1979 for associate membership | 12 April 1984 | 30 December 1986 | FFG |
| Norway | 1981 for associate membership | 1981 for associate membership | 1981 for associate membership | 12 December 1985 | 30 December 1986 | NSA |
| Finland | 1987 for associate membership | 1987 for associate membership | 1987 for associate membership | 22 March 1994 | 1 January 1995 | through MoEAE |
| Portugal | 1996 | NA | NA | 4 October 2000 | 14 November 2000 | PT Space |
| Greece | January 2001 | NA | NA | 19 July 2004 | 9 March 2005 | HSC |
| Luxembourg | September 2000 | NA | NA | 6 May 2004 | 30 June 2005 | LSA |
| Czechia | 1996 | 24 November 2003 | 24 November 2004 | 8 July 2008 | 12 August 2008 | through MoT |
| Romania | December 1992 | 17 February 2006 | 16 February 2007 | 20 January 2011 | 23 December 2011 | ROSA |
| Poland | 28 January 1994 | 27 April 2007 | 28 April 2008 | 13 September 2012 | 19 November 2012 | POLSA |
| Estonia | 20 June 2007 | 10 November 2009 | 22 September 2010 | 4 February 2015 | 1 September 2015 | ESO |
| Hungary | April 1991 | 7 April 2003 | 1st: 5 November 2003 2nd: 26 September 2008 3rd: 17 October 2013 | 24 February 2015 | 4 November 2015 | HSO |
| Latvia | 23 July 2009 | 19 March 2013 | 30 January 2015 | | | LSO |
| Lithuania | 7 October 2010 | 7 October 2014 | 28 September 2015 | | | LSO |
| Slovakia | 28 April 2010 | 16 February 2015 | 4 February 2016 | | | SSO |
| Slovenia | 28 May 2008 | 22 January 2010 | 30 November 2010 | 18 June 2024 | 1 January 2025 | through MoHEST |
| Bulgaria | NA | 8 April 2015 | 4 February 2016 | | | SRTI |
| Cyprus | 27 August 2009 | 6 July 2016 | 2017 | | | through MoCW |
| Croatia | 19 February 2018 | 23 March 2023 | 16 August 2023 | | | through MoSE |
| Turkey | 15 July 2004 | | | | | TUA |
| Ukraine | 25 January 2008 | | | | | SSAU |
| Israel | 30 January 2011 | | | | | ISA |
| Malta | 20 February 2012 | | | | | MCST |

### Possible future cooperation

The political perspective of the European Union (EU) had been to make ESA an agency of the EU by 2014, however, this date was not met. The EU is already the largest single donor to ESA's budget and non-ESA EU states are observers at ESA.
Three non-EU nations — Israel, Turkey and Ukraine — have cooperation agreements with ESA. Agency officials consider the prospects of full membership for these three countries as remote at the current time.
However, ESA ministers instructed agency officials to begin discussions with Australia, Israel and South Africa on future association agreements with ESA. The ministers noted that “concrete cooperation is at an advanced stage” with these nations and that “prospects for mutual benefits are existing”.
Besides EU countries, the EFTA members Norway and Switzerland are also members of ESA. Neither the remaining EFTA member states of Iceland and Liechtenstein nor the EU candidates not listed above have publicly expressed their intention to participate in the European Space Agency's activities.
In 2016, certain ESA programs were extended to Eastern Partnership member states. Armenia, Georgia and Moldova joined the ESA's Earth Observation for Eastern Partnership initiative. This move brought new perspectives to develop cooperation between the ESA and Eastern European countries. The project aims to achieve an increase in the uptake of satellite-based environmental information, while promoting regional cooperation and knowledge exchange.