The global maelstrom of political changes renews the urgency for Europe to unite in space to strengthen its economy and build its global influence, writes Josef Aschbacher.
Josef Aschbacher is director-general of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Innovation is the cornerstone of prosperity, yet Europe has struggled to match the pace of its global competitors, leaving many people feeling left behind.
Europe must pursue inclusive economic growth, focusing on sustainable competitiveness, economic security, autonomy, and fair competition, as the former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi identified in his recent report on competitiveness.
It recommends that Europe use space to drive growth and address critical challenges, helping to restore Europe’s prosperity and standing in the world.
Europe excels in space science, Earth observation and navigation.
The European Space Agency (ESA) works closely with the US Space Agency (NASA) on international missions such as the James Webb space telescope.
ESA has also top-notch European missions of its own like the Euclid space telescope. Its detailed maps of dark energy and dark matter will secure future Nobel prizes.
Europe has proven itself in many programmes, including in Copernicus, the world’s largest Earth-observation system to identify and mitigate climate change, and in Galileo, a satellite navigation program that is more accurate than American GPS. These space systems have boosted industries from precision agriculture to parcel delivery.
But we must do more to power Europe’s economic success.
For over 50 years, ESA has led Europe’s Research and Development (R&D) in space and nurtured a vibrant space industry. Over the past few decades, ESA has worked increasingly with the EU. I welcome the strong leadership of the new Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius.
I support his call for increased funding in the next EU multiannual financial framework, which is expected to run for seven years from 2028. As ESA prepares its proposals for the next triennial funding decisions in November 2025, we must work holistically to align with the EU’s plans.
Moreover, Europe should not simply replicate what the US, China and India are doing in space by racing to the Moon – Europe’s unique focus is on using space to improve life on Earth.
Links between the defence and the space industries should be strengthened, according to a recently published report on Europe’s civil and military preparedness by the former President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö.
Europe should rest assured that ESA’s legal and security framework provides the necessary conditions and guarantees to undertake dual use and security-relevant activities, and programmes if mandated by its member states and the EU.
Indeed, ESA developed the secure signal used in the Galileo navigation system, and our engineers are already working on quantum encryption, cyber security and secure governmental communications.
To boost innovation and economic growth, Europe needs to attract more private and public funding for space. This could be achieved by building on ESA’s long-standing expertise and its well-established network of business incubation centres.
ESA could work with the EU to establish a single, joint space investor network in Europe that would lower the barriers to entry for venture capital and private equity funds, as the Draghi report suggests.
To succeed as a united Europe, we must ensure that regulations are well coordinated and proportionate. The new EU space law offers a huge opportunity to sustain and strengthen the competitiveness of the European space industry.
To increase synergy, avoid duplication and reduce regulatory and administrative burdens – as the Draghi report recommends – the space law should build on existing expertise, tools, processes and competence. ESA has enormous practical expertise to offer and is willing to bring it to the table as a partner and a friend.
Meanwhile, ESA is transforming how it works to become more agile, faster and less bureaucratic while maintaining high-quality standards and full financial accountability.
It will halve the time it takes to place a contract with space companies and slash the red tape around conducting technical project reviews and hiring new talent. It is adopting a hands-on iterative project management style, focusing on deliverables rather than documentation.
Finally, to boost European prosperity, ESA must find the optimal balance between competition and cooperation. ESA’s procurement policy puts competition first while ensuring countries that invest in space receive a return on their investment.
The Draghi report recommended abolishing this ‘geo-return’ element.
However, the policy has created expertise in countries that previously lacked a competitive space industry. It has increased European resilience. It has guarded against the emergence of a monopoly. And it has attracted large sums of public funding for major space programmes.
Recently, ESA evolved its approach to give companies more flexibility in setting up consortia independently of where firms are based. We are now testing its success, and we remain open to further reforms.
As the world turns on its axis – and becomes ever more complex geopolitically – it is observed from space.
On Earth, space is not only vital to everyday life from emergency services to banking, it is also crucial for creating innovation and wealth.
We must avoid the fragmentation of European minds, intelligence, budgets, and ambitions. For Europe to prosper in the new world order, we must unite in space.
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Publish date : 2024-11-27 22:20:00
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The post Europe must unite in space to compete on the global stage – Euractiv first appeared on Love Europe.
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Author : love-europe
Publish date : 2024-11-28 08:25:40
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