Eurospace, which represents the major players in the European space industry, stressed the importance of achieving an ambitious result at the November European Space Agency (ESA) Ministerial Council in Paris, in a letter sent on Thursday 1 September to the ministers responsible for space issues from ESA Member States.
The signatories of this letter recall that the sector has had to deal with major crises since 2019, with the coronavirus pandemic, then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and now inflation which is undermining the industry’s performance. Therefore, it is important for the industry that Member States support a budget of at least the same level of ambition as in 2019 in Seville (see EUROPE 12379/2) to support the space sector which, they insist, plays a key role in improving Europe’s autonomy.
The letter comes after a request from ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, we were told. He fears that the current situation with the war and rising inflation will undermine Member States’ financial ambitions in the space sector. For its part, the industry would like to see a budget of at least €18 billion voted for at the end of this meeting. As a reminder, the budget voted in Seville amounted to €14.4 billion for 4 years, including €12.5 billion for 3 years.
To read the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/2yg (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)