On Thursday 23 October, the Director General of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, said that the announced merger of the satellite divisions of three major European manufacturers - Airbus, Thales and Leonardo - to compete with Starlink “will transform the European industrial landscape”.
This merger “will change the competitive landscape, and we will take this into account in our industrial policy and public procurement”, explained Mr Aschbacher at a press conference on the occasion of the ESA Council meeting in Paris. “We will work closely with the three merging companies, as well as with the other companies not involved, to ensure the competitiveness of our sector in Europe and in individual countries, and to strengthen the European space sector as a whole”, he added.
According to Mr Aschbacher, a detailed evaluation by ESA, in collaboration with the Member States, will be carried out in early 2026.
The new ‘Bromo’ entity, based in Toulouse, is expected to employ some 25,000 people across Europe, with sales expected to reach €6.5 billion. Airbus, Leonardo and Thales will respectively hold 35%, 32.5% and 32.5% of the capital and will jointly exercise governance. The European “champion” will be operational in 2027, if the European Commission gives its approval.
ESA budget. Josef Aschbacher also explained that he would be proposing a budget of €22 billion for ESA over the next three years (see EUROPE 13639/26). “In the home straight of the preparation of the ministerial package (to be discussed in Bremen on 26 and 27 November), the financial amount remains more or less unchanged. We have made some very minor adjustments. It is around 22 billion”, he explained, adding that there was still a great deal of work to be done in preparation for the ministerial meeting. An extraordinary meeting of the Council will be held on 7 November to address the outstanding issues.
Cyprus. During the Council, the Republic of Cyprus signed an Association Agreement with the European Space Agency. Nicosia will proceed with ratification and plans to obtain Associate Member status by early 2026, during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Cyprus will indicate its subscriptions to ESA’s optional programmes at the Ministerial Council meeting. With Cyprus’ ratification, ESA will have four active Associate Member states: Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.
Spain. ESA has agreed to extend its support to Spain for the implementation of the Spanish component of the Atlantic Constellation. The assistance agreement approved in 2023 will be amended to include the launch, deployment, commissioning and early operations of the first satellite of the constellation. The Atlantic Constellation is an initiative by Spain and Portugal to build a constellation of 16 Earth observation satellites. Spain also recently became the 21st national government to sign the Zero Debris Charter, which has around 180 signatories (companies, NGOs, etc.) from 33 countries.
DestinE. The Council approved the second amendment to the Contribution Agreement between the EU and ESA for the implementation of Destination Earth (DestinE), a European Commission initiative aimed at developing a highly accurate digital model of the Earth on a global scale. This amendment will enable the final phase of DestinE’s implementation to begin in mid-2026 and last 24 months.
NASA. The ESA Council also approved cooperation with NASA, formalised by a draft Memorandum of Understanding concerning the planned contribution of the US agency to ESA’s Vigil mission, with the JEDI (Joint EUV Coronal Diagnostic Investigation) instrument. Vigil is designed to provide continuous monitoring of solar activity for space weather forecasting and early warning purposes.
World Food Programme. The ESA Council has approved a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with the World Food Programme (WFP) to establish cooperation on the use of space data and technologies for food security and emergency aid. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Bernard Denuit)