Brussels, 08/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - In addition to making a contribution to EU sectoral policies, the European space programmes, Galileo (navigation) and Copernicus (observation of the Earth), are crucial to member states' security, stated MEPs with their adoption on Wednesday 8 June (446 votes to 156, with 71 abstentions) of the report on space capabilities for European security and defence.
At a time when the European Commission, the member states and the European Space Agency are working on a joint European space strategy (see EUROPE 11563), MEPs wanted to seize the opportunity to highlight the role that the two iconic space programmes can play in the common security and defence policy (CSDP), even though they are, first and foremost, civilian programmes (unlike the American GPS, for example).
Parliament “urges the Council, the Vice President/High Representative and the Commission to ensure that European space programmes develop civilian space-based capabilities and services with relevance for European security and defence capabilities, particularly through the allocation of adequate funds for research”, for example through the Horizon 2020 framework programme. In the view of MEPs, dual-use capacity of space capabilities is important in order to make the most effective use of resources. They argue, therefore, for a holistic, integrated, long-term approach to the space sector at EU level. The space sector should, consequently, be mentioned in the new EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, according to MEPs.
They consider that space capacities dedicated to security and defence should be managed by a specific operational service coordination centre, like the command and control centre as referred to in the Horizon 2020 work programme 2014-2015.
Debate on dangers of militarising space. A minority report was submitted by two MEPs from the GUE/NGL Group - Sabine Lösing (Germany) and Javier Couso Permuy (Spain) - who argued that space policy must remain a civilian matter. They are against any EU funding being allocated for military purposes. “We should not be afraid to say that Copernicus and Galileo, both under civilian control, have an applicability in a widely understood security domain”, author of the report Bogdan Zdrojewski (EPP, Poland) told EUROPE. “It does not mean that we will militarise space. It means that we need to assure security to the citizens also thanks to these technologies”, he stated. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)