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Space Green Paper

Foreword

The efforts made in Europe over the past few decades have been motivated by a desire for autonomy in space matters. So far the framework for these efforts has been intergovernmental, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), whose base of knowledge, experience and co-ordinating role make it an essential player, and national (national agencies and industries).

These efforts have made it possible to create a solid industrial base and to give Europe recognised capability in the field of launchers, science and technology and applications, in particular telecommunications satellites. As a result, it has become a leading player in the commercial field.

However, the world and Europe are being affected by profound changes, which equally impact the space scene. The successes notably obtained by the action of the Agency, should be reinforced and will be justified by their availability to, and corresponding support of the Union.

Over the last few years, the Union became aware of the importance of space. It has been enhancing its role as an actor, in particular on the basis of applications useful to the conduct of its policies (e.g. the Galileo satellite positioning and navigation project) and the GMES initiative (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) for observation of the environment and for security purposes.

The development of space applications, particularly for earth observation, has made it possible to expand their field of interest. Consequently, space represents a tool with unique characteristics at the service of numerous objectives and policies, such as transport and mobility, information society, industrial competitiveness, environmental protection, land use planning, agriculture and fisheries, sustainable development and, more generally, the Lisbon Strategy aimed at "making the Union the most advanced knowledge based society in the world".

Moreover, the growing challenges in terms of security, coupled with the many uses that can be made of space, have now also led to a complete reappraisal of the role of Europe in space. In this connection, the rapid development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) merit special attention.
Integrating space in current European policies would have two main advantages for this sector: it would open up a vast range of applications and users and provide possibilities of better integration of resources and a greater political resonance.

On this level, the fundamental question is that of European ambition. No European nation is capable of independently maintaining a space policy at the necessary level. That the United States devote six times as much in terms of public resources to space as all European countries put together means that Europe cannot remain indifferent if it wishes to play a role in this field.

Some of the issues to be considered are sensitive, for example the degree of independence that Europe is seeking in this strategic field, its ability to adopt a global approach to the security dimension and the level and type of funding that it is prepared to grant.

At the organisational level, there could be a call for a redefinition of the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved, in a spirit of subsidiarity, in order to reflect the political changes in the current situation and respond in a more effective manner to a revived European will.