France, Germany and Italy, the three largest contributors to the European Space Agency, announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to guarantee the future of next-generation Ariane 6 and Vega-C rocket launcher systems.

Countries also reiterated their preference for European rockets after the agency was forced to turn to US firm SpaceX to launch two future science missions.

Space ministers from ESA’s 22 member states meet in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday to finalize the agency’s funding for the next three years, with a €3.2 billion plan (US$3.3 billion ) for European launchers is the order of the day.

“The public funding required to balance the institutional and commercial exploitation of Ariane 6 and Vega-C will be reviewed to take into account the evolution of market prices, institutional prices and economic conditions,” read a joint ministerial statement the French Bruno Le Maire, the German Robert Habeck and the Italian Adolfo Urso.

ESA has had to struggle to find a way to get its missions into space after Russia withdrew its Soyuz rockets earlier this year in response to European sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The agency was also affected by delays with Ariane 6, which is set to replace the successful Ariane 5.

Ariane 6’s maiden flight was originally scheduled for 2020 but has now been pushed back to late 2023.

For Ariane 6 and the smaller Vega-C, “the allocation of funds will be proportionate to the commercial risks taken” to ensure their long-term competitiveness, the ministers said.

The three countries also proposed allowing ESA to use European-made micro and mini launchers currently being developed by Germany and France.

The final decision on how to proceed will be made by December 2023, the statement said.

Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s Director of Space Transport, told AFP that “we are very happy with this joint statement because it makes it possible to create the conditions” to get the necessary funds for the launcher programs at the end of the Council.

He also said that the declaration means that the countries “recognize the interdependence in the programs where they have common interests”, be it for the French-led Ariane 6, the Italian-led Vega-C or the German-sponsored Mikro – and mini launchers.

ESA is asking its member states to contribute 18.5 billion euros to funding space programs over the next three years – an increase of more than 25 percent on the previous amount.

Opening the Council on Tuesday, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said “whatever science and technology we strive for can only thrive in a healthy economic environment”.

Aschbacher told ministers that their countries would reap enormous economic benefits from funding ESA’s space programs.

While the space industry is now around €340 billion, it would reach around €1 trillion by 2040, he said.

The budget decision, expected to be announced on Wednesday, comes amid increasing competition from China and other nations, as well as private companies like SpaceX.

France’s Economy Minister Le Maire called for “uniting” Europe in space.

“At the end of these discussions, there must be a unified Europe, a unified European space policy and unfailing unity in the face of Chinese and American ambitions,” he said at the council meeting.

“Independence has its price. If we want to be independent, we have to put money on the table.”