On the afternoon of Tuesday 9 December, the European ministers responsible for space will meet in Brussels to discuss the European Commission’s proposal for an EU ‘Space act’ (see EUROPE 13667/23).
On Friday, a European source said that the Danish Presidency of the EU Council had been working to improve this proposal. Its intention is reportedly to present, before the end of December, a global compromise that could enable the dossier to move forward constructively, particularly during the Cypriot Presidency in the first half of 2026.
The aim is to arrive at an outline for an overall compromise, with a proposal that makes it possible to retain the key objectives, because “a legislative act on space is necessary”, according to one source. “On the other hand, it is well known that on several points the Member States felt that the Commission’s proposal was not entirely relevant”, added this source.
In a non-paper, Germany “invites” the Commission to “withdraw the current proposal and present a new proposal for a flexible framework with a limited scope, applying only to private and commercial space activities, and presenting at least the same level of ambition in terms of environmental sustainability in the Union as the current proposal”.
In this letter, seen by Agence Europe, Germany considers that fundamental questions remain unanswered. “The proposal as a whole remains unclear, excessively complex and likely to have a significant impact”, the letter reads. According to Berlin, “these problems appear to be inherent in the current approach and legal framework”.
In addition to the debate on the space act, the ministers will be briefed by the European Commission on the dialogue on the implementation of space policy, which took place on 5 November (see EUROPE 13745/19), and on the priorities of the future Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council in the field of space.
An update will be given on the European Space Agency’s ministerial meeting on 26 and 27 November, at which ESA Member States approved a budget of over €22 billion for the next three years (see EUROPE 13761/8). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)