During a policy debate organised by the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU on Friday 29 November at the Competitiveness Council, all Member States have agreed on the need to promote a sustainable space economy to combat the proliferation of space debris.
Speaking as one, they stressed the importance of coordination, equally for space traffic management, at European level. This is also in order to establish a standard at an international level through UN bodies. In addition, Member States anticipate the emergence of a new market dedicated to end-of-life operations and de-orbiting, in-orbit maintenance, and the active disposal of debris.
Finally, the 28 Member States are of the opinion that the space sector will contribute, through the use of space data, to the European Union's climate and environmental objectives.
On the same day, the responsible Ministers adopted conclusions on the use of space solutions for a sustainable Arctic, in which they called upon the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to update the April 2016 Joint Communication pertaining to an EU policy for the Arctic region.
These two topics are timely, and follow on from the ministerial meeting of the European Space Agency. In Seville, ministers have signed up to budget guidelines to combat the proliferation of space debris and ensure a clean space, as well as increased monitoring of the Arctic (see EUROPE 12379/2). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)