Looking towards the EU's space policy

The European Union is in a transition phase because the new institutional cycle 2024-2029 is about to begin and preparations are under way for the publication of the new Commission work programme. Various high-level reports have given the Commission proposals for future work.

In April, Enrico Letta's report on the future of the single market was submitted, in September Mario Draghi's report on long-term competitiveness and in October President Niinistö's report on preparedness. In space policy, the reports of Draghi and Niinistö, in particular, present recommendations for the future direction.

In the European Union, the common space policy has been implemented through the EU Space Programme. Regulation 2021/696 established the Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). During the current period, the Space Programme has supported the EU's political priorities, such as the green and digital transition, the EU's resilience and the strengthening of the EU's global role. The programme has funded EU flagship projects such as the EU earth observation system Copernicus, satellite navigation system Galileo and EGNOS, which provides critical navigation services.

The guidelines of the President of the Commission and the Commissioners' mission letters provided an indication of the plans of the Commission. The actual work programme will possibly be published in early 2025. Andrius Kubilius from Lithuania is responsible for space policy, and he is also responsible for defence matters.

There were hardly any surprises in hearing the Commissioner-designate in the European Parliament. At the hearing, he emphasised that the EU must respond to challenges related to the competitiveness, security and better utilisation of space capabilities in defence. The Commission intends to continue and improve existing capabilities such as Galileo, Copernicus and IRIS2.

In addition to existing capabilities, the Commission is investing in Europe's autonomous access to space. The Commission will also present a proposal for a Space Act in early 2025, which was already expected in spring 2024. The aim of the initiative is to harmonise the licensing ewquirements for space activities. It is also expected that the proposal will include measures to support the space industry. The forthcoming proposal has raised questions, among other things because space activities are guided by many international treaties. From the perspective of competitiveness, it is essential that the EU has an operating environment that enables the space sector.

Building on the Draghi report, the Commission also intends to improve the competitiveness of the EU space industry and is planning to adopt a strategy for the space industry. The competitiveness of the space sector will be supported by public investments in research and innovation, and support for innovative start-ups and scaleups will be strengthened, for example, by making use of procurements. Preparations for the space programme of the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will take place in the institutional cycle.

The responses to the Commissioner-designate's hearings reflect the transformation of the space sector. The sector has grown both globally and in Finland in recent years, and companies of different sizes have entered the sector. From the perspective of competitiveness, it is important that smaller actors, such as SMEs, have access to the value chains of the space sector, especially in smaller space markets, such as Finland.

Finally, the consultation also emphasised preparedness and ensuring space capabilities to respond to various threats. This shows a general change in which the importance of the space sector is also recognised from the perspective of security and defence. In 2023, the Commission adopted a Space Strategy for Security and Defence, on the basis of which future work will be built.

In general, the importance of space technologies and services is widely understood from the perspective of society's functions and preparedness. Space solutions play a key role in the clean and digital transition. Space services and data can be used to monitor the impacts of climate change, provide navigation services and solutions for improving telecommunications connections. 

The data of the Space Programme can also be used to develop new commercial services. In a geopolitically tightened situation, the importance of space for security and defence has also risen to the EU agenda in a new way. This is also due to the dual-use possibilities of space technologies and services, which means that they can be utilised in both civilian and military use.

Discussions to ensure the EU's space capabilities will continue during 2024-2029. From the point of view of future work, the MFF and its budget provide guidelines for development. The MFF proposal is expected in 2025.

The author Isabella Paju is a Senior Specialist for EU Affairs at the Government EU Affairs Department in the Prime Minister's Office.