The European Commission held a first meeting with representatives of start-ups and major space companies to discuss the European Launcher Alliance (see EUROPE 12634/8) on Monday 5 July.
During his speech, Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton gave a rather gloomy assessment of the future of the European space sector, noting that new standards (citing reusable launchers and microlight launchers) are being defined outside the European Union and that the current EU approach cannot be successful in the long term.
He acknowledged that institutional demand in the EU remains too fragmented compared to space policy giants such as the US and China. He stressed the importance of staying together in the space field and of looking beyond national interests. His objective, he insisted, was to break taboos and build a more effective European space strategy.
The issue of aggregation of institutional orders was indeed underlined by many of those present, such as, on the institutional side, Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as from the private sector, by large actors including start-ups.
The European Commission was reminded that only 15% of worldwide launches are commercial. There were also calls for a more protectionist European policy in the space sector. The issue of launcher reuse has been on many lips to reduce costs and improve the competitiveness of the European sector.
On this occasion, Mr Aschbacher said that at the ESA’s next ministerial meeting (scheduled for 2022), there will be a budget proposal to the Member States to support the European Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers and another to develop new launcher technologies.
Mr Breton, for his part, said he was aware of the weakness of institutional orders, before indicating that the constellation for European secure connectivity could provide a solution. He also stressed the importance of Member States giving preference to European launchers for launching institutional satellites into orbit.
However, the Commissioner emphasised the importance of developing a range of financial schemes for research and innovation as well as the commercialisation of launchers, indicating that he wanted to accelerate the privately-funded launcher sector by 2024. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)