14 DAY TRIAL // According to officials at the European Space Agency, ESA Member States unanimously agreed today, July 13, to accept the accession of Poland to the ESA Convention. This is wonderful news for all the countries involved in pushing the Old Continent's space program ever further.
The countries involved in ESA are France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Austria, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic and Romania.
As soon as the Polish authorities ratify the accession agreement, Poland will become the 20th ESA state. At this point, it's still unclear when this will happen, but Waldemar Pawlak, the Polish Minister of Economy, will make pressures in Warsaw for the document to be passed as soon as possible.
“Poland will participate as of today as an observer in ESA Council. Poland has been a European Cooperating State since the signature of its ECS agreement in April 2007,” an ESA press release says.