The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, unveiled, on Tuesday 24 January, at the 15th Space Conference in Brussels, the first elements of the Space Strategy for Security and Defence, which the Commission is expected to present in March.
“Space is going to become a kind of battlefield, at least a place where competition and confrontation will take place”, Borrell said, explaining that last year governments allocated about $100 billion to space, an increase of 9% from last year.
Moreover, he said, just under 10% of the 5,500 satellites in orbit are owned and/or operated by the world's military, not counting dual-use satellites.
Borrell said the space strategy should answer several questions: how to improve Europeans’ common understanding of space threats? How can space infrastructure be better protected and made more resilient? How to respond to threats in the space domain? How to strengthen space capabilities in support of security and defence? And finally, how can we better cooperate with partners?
According to Breton, this strategy will be based on four pillars. The first is a European-wide resilience and security framework for European, national and commercial space systems. The EU must strengthen its infrastructure by “reducing strategic dependencies, protecting supply chains and developing critical space technologies”, Borrell said.
The strategy will also focus on strengthening the EU’s capacity to respond to threats, Breton added. “We need to strengthen our ability to analyse space-related risks, threats and vulnerabilities and to get a better insight on counter-space capabilities and intentions of our competitors”, said Borrell, who also stated that regular exercises should be carried out and possibilities for solidarity and mutual assistance among Europeans explored.
The third pillar mentioned by Breton is “an enhanced use of space for security and defence operations, for instance through new Earth Observation and Space Situational Awareness services”. “We have to make better use of the benefits of space-based assets for security and defence, to strengthen dual-use innovation and invest more in capability development”, Borrell added, citing the EU Satellite Centre in Torrejón, “which last year delivered more than 4,500 geospatial intelligence products, which means 10 times more compared to 12 years ago”.
Finally, the strategy will advocate for intensified cooperation with global partners, including NATO. “We must continue promoting reliable behaviour, responsible behaviour in space, and we have to look for a growing community of like-minded allies and partners that we need to work more closely with”, the High Representative said.
2023, a crucial year for realising ambitions
Commissioner Breton also said that beyond the presentation of the new strategy, 2023 would be "a crucial year for realising our European space ambitions”.
In particular, the Commissioner announced that once the legislative phase for the IRIS secure connectivity flagship programme is completed - the European Parliament is due to vote on the Interinstitutional Agreement on 14 February - the Commission will move “immediately” to the implementation phase by launching the procurement process. The objective is a decision by the end of 2023.
While the Commission hopes that IRIS will start providing initial services in 2024 and reach full operational capability in 2027, some industry players consider 2024 too ambitious and are looking more towards 2026 or 2027.
Breton also highlighted the need for European space legislation to establish common rules on safety, security and sustainability of space operations.
Recalling that 10 Member States had already started to regulate space operations, Breton said there should be “common rules on collision avoidance, safety and mitigation measures, threat assessment, resilience requirements and a ‘zero debris’ approach”. “This would be the ‘single market moment’ for space. The aim will be to create a level playing field in Europe, based on EU standards”, he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)