Space

Space Green Paper

1.2 Budgetary and financial resources

The average level of public funding of space activities in Europe is less than € 15 per head per year. The corresponding amount in the United States is around €110. As an illustration, the split of resources allocated to the space sector in 2000 is given in the diagram below.

Fig.5: Distribution of sources of revenue for the European space sector
(year 2000) (in %)
[Source:Euroconsult, ESA]

Optimisation of certain instruments and the institutional architecture should make it possible to achieve greater efficiency in the use of existing resources (cf. Chapter 3). Compared to the main competitor, the United States, the return on investment remains very unfavourable, and Europe must determine to what extent it wishes to increase its investment in the space field.

In Europe, space has been financed largely from funds under research budgets. However, the development and operation of launch vehicles, applications and infrastructure go well beyond this budgetary framework.

At Community level, moreover, use can be made of a range of instruments (trans-European networks, R& structural funds, development aid, etc.) governed by different rules.

Q5: How may the financing of space activities at European level be organised in a more coherent manner, avoiding that an increase of resources at European level is accompanied by an equivalent reduction of investment at national level?