ESA Ministerial Council will meet in Bremen in 2025

The European Space Agency (ESA) will host its next Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen, Germany, in November 2025. This was announced by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). Bremen follows Paris as host city, where the previous Ministerial Council meeting took place in 2022. Cologne and Stuttgart also applied as venues.

Government representatives from the 22 ESA member states meet at the ESA Ministerial Council meeting, the highest body of the European Space Agency. At the meeting, which is held every three years, future European space projects and their financial resources are decided. At the previous ESA Council meeting in 2022, a budget of 16.9 billion Euros was approved for the space programs. A total of several hundred participants from all over the world are expected to participate.

Mayor and President of the Senate Dr. Andreas Bovenschulte: “The aeronautics and space sector has a long tradition in Bremen with 140 companies, four billion Euros in annual turnover and 12,000 jobs. Therefore, Bremen is justifiably the number ONE City of Space in Germany. The fact that the ESA Ministerial Council will meet here in 2025 is both, an honor and award. It is also an opportunity for the location to present its capabilities to the global community. My thanks go to Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Dr. Robert Habeck and the Coordinator for Aerospace Policy of the German Federal Government, Dr. Anna Christmann, for supporting the meeting of the ESA Council in Bremen.”

Kristina Vogt, Minister for Economic Affairs, Ports, and Transformation: “The space sector plays a key role in addressing challenges such as climate protection, communication, mobility and security. This means that our daily lives and the development of modern society are no longer possible without the space sector. This high-tech industry and driver of innovation is particularly important in Bremen. The decision to hold the ESA Ministerial Council Conference in Bremen is therefore also a recognition of Bremen as the City of Space, its companies and scientific institutions aa well as their employees. This is also an incentive to fulfill this role in the future. We will give the conference a worthy setting and want to use the opportunity to present Bremen as an important location of the European space sector.”

ESA coordinates and promotes the development of the European space sector and ensures that the investments of the member states bring lasting benefits to all Europeans. Germany took over the chairmanship of the ESA Council from France at the last meeting in Paris in 2022 and will therefore host the next meeting in Germany in 2025. The German delegation is led by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

Source: Pressestelle des Senats.