The French and German space ministers said on Tuesday that “time is of the essence” to quickly develop a European space policy that significantly increases reliance on European-made equipment and services to boost the continent’s security and competitiveness.
“The world is changing very rapidly,” Philippe Baptiste, France’s minister of higher education, research and space, told the European Space Conference, moderated by Euronews’ Alice Tidy.
“What was once our first and strongest ally is now very predictable and this is having the biggest impact,” he added, adding that the United States earlier this month threatened tariffs on several European countries in an effort to force them to acquire Greenland, a move that cast doubt on the future of the NATO alliance.
“This affects all of our defense and security programs, and of course space is part of that. So it really means we need to change the way we look at space. This goes beyond just reaching space and needing launchers, but also satellites and defense and security programs in space,” he added.
European money for European industry
The EU has sought to strengthen cooperation on space assets and services since the beginning of the decade, after lagging behind the United States and China. The Ukraine war also highlighted the important role space plays in defense and the fact that it is increasingly becoming an arena of conflict.
The commission’s Defense Preparedness Roadmap 2030 identifies strategic enablers, including space assets, as priority areas for investment, along with ammunition, air defense, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The goal is to equip member states with the capabilities they need to protect themselves from a possible Russian attack in 2030.
The EU executive is also touting the European Space Shield among its four flagship defense projects, but little is known at this point about what that means.
Mr Baptiste said the EU should implement a “100% European priority” when it comes to space and defense.
France already supports European defense priorities, and access to funds from the EU’s Defense Financing Scheme and the European Defense Industry Program already presupposes that a large proportion of the value of a given system will be purchased from European manufacturers.
“How can you imagine using European funds just to buy and develop from foreign partners? That’s not what we should do. What we should do is use European funds to develop European industry,” Baptiste said.
He added that buying European assets and sending them into space with European companies would ensure that third countries would not be able to prevent rockets from launching or operate so-called “kill switches” that would prevent them from using certain systems for which some of their components were produced.
But he warned that none of this will be possible unless all 27 EU member states unite around a common space policy.
Asked about the slow pace of European integration so far, Baptiste insisted: “We are improving and learning very quickly. We have to be very grateful to the President of the United States, who helps us every day on this subject.”
“I think the European Union should lead the political future of space in terms of the vision and the programs that should be developed,” he added.
Germany’s Space Minister Dorothee Baer similarly called for accelerating the development of a joint space policy.
“We can all see what is happening in the world, so waiting is not an option,” he said in his keynote speech at the European Conference. “Time is of the essence.”
Germany has announced it will invest 35 billion euros in military space capabilities by 2030 and is the single largest contributor to the European Space Agency.
“It also makes sense that everything that comes from Europe in the space field, and everything that countries and individual actors contribute, should work together,” Baer said, calling for interoperability between the EU’s space assets and systems.
“We are currently experiencing ground-breaking changes. Our way of life is under pressure, as is our freedom and security. So we all must do more. That means standing up for our beliefs and advocating for safe, sustainable and peaceful uses of space.”
