If approved by the Spanish Council of Ministers and ratified by the nation's Parliament, the agreement will take effect July 1. The observatory's council approved Spain's admission at its 107th meeting in Garching, Germany in December 2005.

"Since long, Spain was aware that entering ESO was a logical decision and it was even necessary for a country like Spain because Spain is ranked 8th in astrophysical research", San Segundo said. "The large scientific installations are not only necessary for research in different fields but are also partners and customers for hi-tech companies, helping to increase the funding of R&D."

Cesarsky said Spanish astronomy has made significant strides forward and she was delighted to welcome the new ESO member. "We very much look forward to working together with our excellent Spanish colleagues," she said.

"For ESO, the Spanish accession means that we can draw on the scientific and technological competences, some of them unique in Europe, that have been developed in Spain and, of course, for Europe the Spanish membership of ESO is an important milestone in the construction of the European Research Area."

Spain hosts, operates or owns a number of facilities dedicated to astronomical research, including the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos at La Palma, considered the premier optical/infrared astronomical observing site in Europe and the site of the Spanish 10m GranTeCan telescope, which is now nearing completion.

Through ESO, Spain will enjoy full access to all of the observatory's current facilities and to unrestricted participation in future projects. Spain already is an active partner of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), which ESO scientists are supervising.

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