In a draft working document of the EU Council Working Group on Space – seen by EUROPE and due to be discussed on Tuesday 14 September – the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council takes stock of the rather timid position of Member States regarding the thorny issue of Space Traffic Management.
Based on a joint conference between the EU and the European Space Agency (ESA) held in July on the subject (see EUROPE 12761/23), the Slovenian Presidency has therefore made several observations.
Firstly, Member States are insisting on respecting national competences on the basis of European treaties (Art. 189 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). The role of the EU should therefore focus on standards and soft law, which should not place a burden on European industry in any way. The EU could develop incentives to encourage the adoption and implementation of soft law measures at international and European level.
The EU SST consortium (a European consortium for tracking objects in orbit) would form the basis for all operational and research activities that are related to space surveillance and tracking.
The international route would be the preferred route for the development of an “effective” STM approach, it says. In this respect, the work initiated by UNCOPUOS, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, would be an important step “in the right direction”.
The Slovenian Presidency therefore advocates setting “realistic” targets, noting that it seems “difficult to make progress in the short term on any legally binding international regulatory framework”. The first step would be to support the implementation of the voluntary guidelines adopted under the framework of COPUOS.
The paper suggests that the EU could help build a consensus for the development of common norms and standards, by being “pragmatic, gradual and incremental and using the principle of reciprocity as a basis”, again with a view to not penalising European industry. The document makes mention of a possible note or even the adoption of conclusions under the French Presidency of the EU Council during the first half of 2022.
The need for European action in the field of space traffic management has become more acute in recent years, due to increased international space activity. Earlier this year, the European Commission announced a flagship project on space traffic management (see EUROPE 12658/3). A roadmap was recently set out under the Portuguese Presidency of the EU (see EUROPE 12729/4). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)