The European Commission is set to present a proposal for a regulation to establish a new constellation for secure connectivity on Tuesday 15 February, on the eve of a Space Summit that is very important for the future of the European Space Policy.
The constellation therefore has a dual purpose: to provide Internet access to the whole of Europe, and to guarantee secure communication to the governments of the EU Member States.
According to the studies seen by EUROPE, the constellation will be multi-orbital and may be the result of a public-private partnership (see EUROPE 12825/2). The overall budget should be around €6 billion, as confirmed by the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton (see EUROPE 12876/5).
The estimated budget should follow a “2+2+2” approach, according to European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher (see EUROPE 12872/12), with €2 billion coming from Member States, €2 billion from public-private partnerships, and €2 billion from the European budget.
The European Commission has reportedly been creative in raising this money by dipping into GovSatCom, the Digital Europe programme, the Horizon Europe framework programme, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and possibly the Defence Fund.
Last November, a senior European Commission official suggested that the EU space programme regulation (see EUROPE 12830/8) should be amended.
A questionable impact assessment
According to our information, the impact assessment on the constellation project has received two negative opinions from the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB). The Committee considers that there is a lack of analytical coherence and criticises the absence of a precise timetable or details of the origin of the funds. The Committee also questions whether the greenhouse gas emissions that launchers would generate are compatible with the EU’s climate objectives and the European Climate Law. Space Traffic Management On the same day, the European Commission will present a Communication to strengthen the European presence in the field of Space Traffic Management (STM). At the 14th European Space Conference in January, Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton stated that he wanted to strengthen European infrastructure and resources by defining a “holistic” approach to reduce “European dependence” on the American system, while ensuring interoperability with other systems (see EUROPE 12876/5). This Communication is part of the roadmap drawn up by the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council (see EUROPE 12729/4) and the subsequent contributions of the Member States (see EUROPE 12834/9). Few binding announcements are expected, as the European Commission has limited manoeuvrability in this area due to the EU treaties. Relying largely on the EUSST consortium, the Communication is expected to include a strong focus on international cooperation and standardisation (see EUROPE 12819/26). Furthermore, Member States seem to be reluctant to adopt a binding framework at European level in this field (see EUROPE 12789/8).
The European Commission plans to present legislation on space traffic management by 2024. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)