The 46th meeting of the EUTELSAT IGO Advisory Committee (AC) was held last 28 May by videoconference, chaired by Diana Drazci of Hungary.
It was attended by all nine states comprising the AC: Azerbaijan, France (notifying administration before the International Telecommunication Union), Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey. Bulgaria and Portugal participated as observers. The chair of the Assembly of Parties (AP), Frédéric Labarrere of Monaco, took part, as usual, as a guest. Due to the provision of virtual means, some delegations had a larger composition; for the first time new delegates from Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg (in this case, a former AC member) and Turkey participated.
The executive secretary (ES) of EUTELSAT IGO, Piotr Dmochowski-Lipski of Poland, reported on activities since the last Committee meeting on 31 January, namely the fact that the entire Secretariat has been teleworking due to ongoing health conditions. That situation has not, however, impacted fulfilment of the mission and activity of EUTELSAT IGO.
Since the last AC the ES has taken part in two meetings of the board of directors of Eutelsat Communications (one virtual), as well as in two meeting of the board of directors of Eutelsat S.A. He also reported on the supervision of the company Eutelsat S.A., monitored by the IGO, whose financial situation continues to ensure the conditions to fulfil the basic principles and public service obligations the operator must comply with.
The deputy CEO of Eutelsat Communications, Michel Azibert, justified to the Secretariat his inability to participate in this meeting and give the customary presentation on the activity, results and future prospects of the company. The ES supplied information about the satellite operator, whose mission and revenues are understood to not be strongly influenced by the ongoing public health crisis. Some delays in new satellite launches and ground operations are nevertheless expected due to the substantial impact on suppliers’ activity. The current fleet of 35 geostationary satellites of Eutelsat S.A. covers two-thirds of the world’s population.
However, the financial results presented to the AC, covering the second half of 2019, show year-on-year a 3.3% fall in revenue and 6.4% fall in net income, equivalent to a decline from 150.4 million euros to the current 140.7 million euros.
At this session, the Committee again focused its attention on reviewing the latest amendments proposed for the pension plan (included in the staff regulations), based on a new proposal, revised, by the SIACI Saint-Honoré consultancy. Note that this issue has been very controversial, particularly due to the Secretariat’s fierce defence of introducing individualised contributions and differentiated scheme to be adopted by staff hired in the future. Portugal again insisted on the need to submit to the AC a comparative study of pension plans practiced in other international organisations, as already requested, which was supported by various parties.
Franco Malerba (an Italian delegates and twice a candidate for the ES position) addressed the committee at the beginning of the meeting, his last before retiring. The AC thanked the delegate and Italy’s “first astronaut” for his active participation in its work over more than a decade.
Portugal suggested to the AC and to the organisation’s Secretariat that they continue to study and implement means for remote participation, as that solution saves resources and costs while also reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in line with the European Union’s carbon neutrality targets.
The AC agreed on its next sessions (2 October 2020 and 28-29 January 2021) and decided that it may be able to meet physically in Paris if health conditions so permit or otherwise remotely, though in the first case it would try to simultaneously provide means for virtual participation.
