Several speakers at EU Space Week 2019, held on Wednesday 4 December in Helsinki, expressed their concern following recent proposals made by the Finnish Presidency of the EU Council on the 2021-2027 financial framework, in particular regarding the European Union’s space programme.
Indeed, in its proposals, the Finnish Presidency (see EUROPE 12381/1) suggests bringing the budget for the space programme to a maximum of €12.7 billion in 2018 prices, a reduction of around €1.7 billion compared to the budget advanced by the European Commission (which had proposed around €14.4 billion in constant prices and €16 billion in current prices), as stated by French MEP Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe). For the parliamentarian, the Finnish proposal is thus “unacceptable”.
“Defending our budget in the upcoming negotiations will be for us extremely important, because, in fact, an ambitious budget will be the only way to ensure Europe’s global leadership and strategic autonomy”, he insisted, recalling that the European Parliament had advocated for a budget of €16.9 billion (see EUROPE 12142/7).
According to Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG Grow), “more money” is needed if we do not want the European Union to “lag behind” the major international competitors such as the United States (where the private sector is very aggressive), China and also India within 10 years’ time. The senior official recalled that the European Commission was in the process of creating a new Directorate-General dedicated to Space and Defence.
The Finnish Presidency’s proposal leaves some doubtful. Is it a strategy for provoking shock among the Member States so they will contribute at the level of the ambitions set out by the European Union, or does it reveal a relative lack of interest on the part of the Finnish Presidency in the space issue? Some Member States consider that space policy benefits a few Member States, primarily France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
This could explain the enthusiasm generated among the member countries of the European Space Agency (ESA), which have subscribed massively, even beyond expectations, to the Agency’s budget, particularly for the Copernicus programme (see EUROPE 12379/2). ESA is governed by the principle of “geographical fair return”: the Member State receives the equivalent of what it invests.
The stakes are high. The Union has risen to the highest levels to become the world leader in the field of earth observation, thanks to Copernicus. However, to ensure the continuity of the programme and to develop it, in particular the monitoring of CO2 emissions, it is necessary to maintain or even replace satellites (the “sentinels”). In addition, the Galileo geolocation programme is about to enter its fully operational phase, while new programmes, GovSatCom and Space Situational Awareness (a space surveillance programme), are being considered. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)