The draft code on civilian and military use, which includes pledges on the integrity of orbiting space objects, was already approved by EU ministers on December 8th. NASA revealed Thursday that a disused Russian military satellite and a U.S. communications satellite owned by the Iridium company had crashed into each other on Tuesday. Countries signing up to the code would pledge to maintain freedom of access and use of outer space "for peaceful purposes without interference, fully respecting the security, safety and integrity of space objects in orbit," according to the text released here. They would also pledge to cooperate to "prevent harmful interference in outer space activities" and seek to prevent outer space from being an area of conflict even if they were engaged in military activities in space.
"The European Union is currently consulting other space faring nations on the text with the aim of reaching a consensus... that would be acceptable for as many states as possible," Ivan Pinte, the Czech ambassador, told the conference. The world's only disarmament treaty-making body has been deadlocked for more 13 years, unable to agree on what issues — including full nuclear disarmament or curbs on the production of fissile material — they should negotiate. One of the most controversial areas for the 65 nations is an attempt by Russia and China to seek a binding treaty to prevent the arms race in outer space. Pinte said Thursday that the EU "appreciates" the Russian and Chinese efforts to improve space security and "identifies with the overall goal," but had qualms about the effectiveness of the proposal. The voluntary code put forward by the Europeans was not meant to replace other initiatives to build confidence and transparency, he said.