EU Member States appear to have little appetite for following a coordinated and binding approach at European level in terms of space traffic management (STM), according to a draft version of EU Council conclusions seen by EUROPE on Monday 14 March.
While Member States welcomed the announcements made by the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) in mid-February, they do not seem to be willing to match the ambition of the European institution at this stage.
They therefore welcomed the proposal for a European definition of space traffic management, noting that it was primarily a safety and sustainability issue.
In particular, they welcomed the proposed consultation mechanism to aggregate, by early 2023, the grievances and requirements relating to an EU level STM approach.
However, the 2024 legislative proposal, which formed the key announcement made by the two institutions (see EUROPE 12891/4), is nowhere to be found in the provisional EU Council conclusions. Instead, the conclusions note the need for “enhanced dialogue” between Member States and underlines the role of the EU SST Consortium (a European consortium responsible for tracking objects in orbit).
National delegations will discuss the conclusions in a working group on the afternoon of Tuesday 15 March.
To consult the draft version: https://aeur.eu/f/rf (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)