On Tuesday 15 February, the European Commission presented its draft regulation to launch a European connectivity constellation to make the European continent independent by the end of 2030 in both high-speed internet connection and secure government communications. Estimated cost of the project: €6 billion, of which €2.4 billion comes from the European Union.
“Basically, this new constellation, I would say, is the Galileo moment of connectivity”, said Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, who is particularly involved in this project, and who immediately emphasised the interoperability of this new constellation with the two European flagship programmes Galileo and Copernicus.
As mentioned in our previous articles, the constellation is built on a public-private partnership (see EUROPE 12890/10) and on a “2+2+2” funding model, with some variations.
Responding to EUROPE, the commissioner said that the budgetary burden sharing would be as follows: €2 billion from the private sector, just under €2 billion from the member states and finally €2.4 billion from the EU budget, which remains unchanged. He said that the “bulk” came from budgets falling under his portfolio.
The Commissioner told journalists that he had worked hard to “secure this budget”. In its communication, the institution confirmed that this budget will have no impact on the other elements of the EU space programme.
A “disruptive” project
As the EU is a late entrant in the constellation and connectivity system, the European Commission wants to innovate to give it a place in the system. The constellation system will be multi-orbital and will seek to leverage existing constellations, notably Galileo, and thereby seek to strengthen some existing components in the EU Space Programme Regulation (see EUROPE 12624/21).
The constellation will reinforce the signals of the European Galileo navigation programme and the Copernicus earth observation programme. It will strengthen GovSatCom’s ground infrastructure.
Among the more specific objectives, the constellation aims to connect infrastructures, the so-called ‘smart grids’ in the field of energy, finance, health, but also in transport.
Like its American competitor Starlink, the constellation project seeks to provide very high-speed Internet access throughout Europe.
In addition to covering the European continent, the constellation project could be aimed at other geographical areas, notably the African continent, but also the Arctic.
An important security and defence component
The constellation includes an important security and defence component. As such, the Regulation provides for governance and eligibility conditions that aim to limit any participation of third country entities.
However, the participation of third states or international organisations remains possible under the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (Article 218 TFEU) through the conclusion of international agreements.
It will secure institutional communications, such as embassies or Europol, the EU’s law enforcement cooperation agency.
The project also includes an important crisis management and external action component, for humanitarian actions in third countries, for responding to emergencies at sea, and for security and defence.
It will also aim to carry out surveillance activities at the EU’s borders, in maritime areas and in more remote regions, such as the Arctic. Finally, the constellation will also contribute to military missions.
Quantum encryption
Due to its sensitive missions and in the age of increasing cyberthreats, the constellation should incorporate communication infrastructures with quantum encryption (EuroQCI) to secure the transmission of cryptographic keys.
In addition, the European Commission plans to support the European space ecosystem, or a ‘European New Space’, both upstream (technology development) and downstream (exploitation of space data) via contract concessions.
The timetable is ambitious. Development and initial deployment could begin as early as 2023. Initial services and tests of quantum cryptography could take place as early as 2025. The constellation could be fully operational by 2028, according to European Commission projections.
A project in search of a name
Responding to a journalist, the commissioner said that there had been some thoughts about what the constellation project might be called, but that a competition could be opened to rename it.
A proposal criticised by the RSB
As reported yesterday in our newsletter (see EUROPE 12890/10), the Regulatory scrutiny board (RSB) has strongly criticised the proposal for its overall lack of coherence, its vagueness and the methodology for preparing the impact assessment.
The project will be presented and discussed by the ministers of the Member States at the Space Summit to be held in Toulouse on Wednesday 16 February.
To see the proposed regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/c6 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)