At the Council meeting of 5,6 March 1986, the French delegation formally proposed the Europeanization of Hermes programme. The Council concluded the discussion by asking that a procedure be started to bring this programme to the same level of maturity as other programmes requiring major decisions on implementation of the European long-term space plan to be taken by mid-1987. The meetings of Potential Participants in the Hermes Preparatory Programme were under the aegis of the same Council.