site.btaBulgaria Negotiates Five More Projects with European Space Agency

Five projects from the European Space Agency's (ESA) seventh and last call for project proposals from Bulgaria are being negotiated, the Innovation and Growth Ministry said after Minister Daniel Lorer met with representatives of academia and high-tech business on Wednesday.

In five years, Bulgaria has carried out 37 ESA projects worth just over 6 million euro, the Ministry also said. 

Cooperation opportunities with ESA are expanding with projects in the fields of applied research and high-tech products and services. Bulgarian companies and research organizations will be able to participate in selection procedures to realize their space-based application projects, Lorer noted. 

He said: "We want to increase the preparedness of the Bulgarian space sector for full-fledged participation in ESA programmes." According to him, the consolidation of the research and business sectors will contribute to Bulgaria's more successful participation in ESA.   

Lorer explained that the recently signed agreement with ESA is a symbol of Bulgaria's increased interest in, and commitment to, ensuring stronger involvement of the space industry in the Agency's initiatives. The cooperation with ESA contributes to improving the quality and competitiveness of Bulgaria's research and technology sector and the visibility of Bulgarian innovation companies. This cooperation also ensures access to ESA's MSc and post-MSc programmes.