EU COMPET Council – SPACE

29 May 2018
–
ESA DG speech

 Mr President, Mrs Commissioner, Ministers, Ladies and

Gentlemen,
 First, let me thank the Bulgarian Presidency for having invited ESA
to this meeting of the EU Council to discuss the future of European
space policy. This comes at a very important time for the EU, ESA,
their respective Member States and the European space sector as a
whole.
 Space is a critical sector, enabling public policies and European
engagement worldwide and creates new business opportunities.
The capacity to use and access space is an indispensable element
for Europe to tackle global challenges, such as climate change,
technology revolutions, shifts in geopolitical power or
humanitarian crises, and to support economic growth, security,
quality of life and sustainable development.
 Europe is currently the second space power worldwide, thanks to
constant public sector investments and the excellence of large
system integrators, SMEs, research and technical centres as well as
academia. We are talking about a Europe where EU is part of
Europe, ESA is part of Europe, and our respective Member States
are part of Europe.
 However, in recent years many new actors worldwide, new space
faring nations and private companies have entered the space
sector, resulting in increased competition on the global scene. In
order for Europe not to lose out to this fierce competition, we need
a common response of all European space actors. No single
organisation or institution in Europe can face the current
challenges or fully grasp all emerging opportunities alone. We need
a strong, coordinated, united European space sector where all
these actors work together efficiently.
 How can we define an efficient Space Policy for the European
space sector and a coherent implementation framework to
incarnate such policy? The first step is to avoid narrowing the
analysis on just the EU space policy, or the ESA space policy, or the
space policy of their respective Member States at national level.
EU, ESA and their respective member states are part of Europe and
Europe’s DNA commands to address the European space policy
globally, seeking best synergies between the national,
intergovernmental and supra national frameworks.
 For 50 years, European states have joined forces through ESA to
enable the development of the European space sector and its
industry as it stands today. For 15 years, European states have
joined forces in both the European Union and ESA to build Galileo
and Copernicus, the fantastic successes that could not have been
achieved without the commitment of the EU, European States, and
the expertise of ESA.
 If we want Europe to safeguard its excellence and maintain its
place in the world, it is now time to consolidate its future.
 It is important to recall that ESA is, I believe the only, international
organisation that is mentioned in the Lisbon Treaty. In Article 189,
the Treaty puts an obligation on the EU to establish “any
appropriate relations” with ESA. My first proposal to you is that a
strategic, long-term strategic partnership between the EU and ESA
is established which joins the political leadership of the EU with the
technical leadership of ESA in the space domain.
 Europe cannot afford to have the next EU MFF and ESA CM19 allow
that the money of the European tax payer is spent inefficiently, or
invested in redundant programmes or infrastructures. Europe
cannot afford that next MFF and CM19 are uncoordinated and
incoherent.

 Therefore let us think European, I mean really European.

Astronauts always report that they do not see any national border
in Europe. In that sense we should work for United Space in Europe
and for the other way round, namely for United Europe in Space.
 I have a dream…
 Please follow me for a moment forgetting about all the restrictions
of existing institutions and their specific institutional or national
interests. Let us as well forget for a moment existing conventions
and proposed regulations.
 Let us think about United Space in Europe and United Europe in
Space:
 Hopefully we all agree that we better have coherence in what
Europe is doing in space. This coherence is necessary for the
benefit of our citizens, for our industry, for economic growth and
for jobs.

 I would like to present a logic to come to a powerful, competitive

United Europe in Space. For that we need as a first and most
important level joint objectives. These were jointly defined by EU
and ESA in 2016:

 maximise the integration of space into European society and

economy, by increasing the use of space technologies and
applications to support public policies, providing effective
solutions to the big societal challenges faced by Europe and the
world, strengthening synergies between civilian and security
activities in the fields of navigation, communication and
observation, including through monitoring borders, land and
maritime security conditions;
 foster a globally competitive European space sector, by
supporting research, innovation, entrepreneurship for growth
and jobs across all Member States, and seizing larger shares of
global markets;
  ensure European autonomy in accessing and using space in a
safe and secure environment, and in particular consolidate and
protect its infrastructures, including against cyber threats.

 The next step is to decide which space activities should be covered

to reach the goals within Europe.
- Technology
- Space Transportation
- Operations
- Earth observation
- Navigation
- Telecommunication
- Space Science and Exploration
- Space Safety and Security
and respective services
 The third aspect is to look to existing and potential funding
mechanisms: European Union, Intergovernmental, National,
private investment and to different modes of space programmes
including mandatory as well as optional activities according to
different national interests. Here the interest of states to keep or
to develop national competence in space has to be mentioned.
 Based on this the future structure of the public European Space
sector can be derived. A structure which secures the different
aspects and leads to a coherent and efficient solution, avoiding
duplications but taking credit of existing expertise, infrastructure
and competences:

One Organisation to manage the European Space Activities in the

21st century with at least three sections:
a) Intergovernmental section with geo return principle, taking into
account national interests in the development of industry, research
entities and academia including mandatory and optional
programmes
b) A section devoted especially to programmes financed by the
European Union with respective associated rules
c) A third section which is used to disseminate the results of a) and
b) and provides downstream services to the public, to industry and
different policy areas. This section also feeds the definition of new
space activities in the first and second section
All three sections should use the same infrastructure, competences
and capabilities and include private investments wherever
possible.
As far as the governance of this body is concerned a Grand Council
with all the public stakeholders could be established, in which
specific decision rules for the different sections are imposed and
implemented.
 If we look to the world around us it is obvious that we need a brave
decision…right now. The US for instance have implemented with
their national space council an instrument to secure a coherent
 space. It is time to go farther than just an evolution of existing
entities. We need a clear decision for EUROPE.
 A fundamental condition is to secure the budget for the
continuation of the current programmes and the deployment of
new ones. Here I wish to congratulate the European Commission
for its Multiannual Financial Framework proposal published on 2
May. This proposal clearly establishes space as a priority sector,
securing the maintenance and operations especially of the current
Galileo and Copernicus infrastructures and service provisions.
 ESA’s future budget is also an essential element of the success of
Europe in Space. Hence ESA is already preparing its Council at
Ministerial level in 2019, including proposals for the continuation
of the Navigation Innovation and Support Programme, as well as
Copernicus second generation. In the past the ESA R&D technology
programmes proved to have efficiently laid the grounds for the
EU’s operational programmes, and we trust this successful
cooperation will bring the same result in the future.
 ESA will propose to approve Govsatcom and Space Safety including
SSA development programmes in which ESA has already invested
for many years.
 Furthermore, ESA is preparing additional programmes: ranging
from access to space with Ariane 6 and VEGA C, the robotic
exploration of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and the Moon and human
spaceflight to the International Space Station and beyond, to
science missions aiming at the measurement of gravitational
waves, or exoplanet discovery, satellites that monitor the weather
and natural disaster and investments in basic technologies for
 preparation of future programmes – ESA is supporting the whole
range of space activities, so I can’t cite them all.
 And it is for a reason that all these activities are undertaken by a
single agency: to ensure a critical size enabling capacities and
synergies.
 So ESA will do its part with its Ministerial Council at the end of
2019 to continue investing in space. The current level of ESA
programmes amounts to 28 BE over the period of the next EU MFF.
I take this opportunity to thank the ESA Member States for their
continued support to these space programmes.
 While there are good reasons to congratulate each other on past
achievements, the European space sector also has the obligation to
overcome some weaknesses that threaten to undermine its future
success and that can be reduced by my proposal:
- First, at the Policy level, Europe needs stronger coordination of
the policies of the different actors that are part of the United
Space in Europe.
- Second, the fragmentation of the implementation of space
programmes is weakening the European space industry and the
efficiency of the public sector, and
- Third, Brexit. This is a reality and it has a number of implications
for the EU, its Member States, and of course the UK, which go
much beyond the space sector. Continental Europe and the UK
cannot afford to break the bridge between the European space
sector and the UK space industry, including for reasons of
security and defence. It is not that I take a stance on Brexit, but
I am merely suggesting that we need to consider carefully the
way that the UK and it’s capable space industry remains
involved.
 Europe, this is to say at least the EU, ESA and their respective
Member States together, must join forces.
 While the next EU MFF must secure EU infrastructures and ensure
service provision, the ESA’s CM19 must, among other things,
ensure the preparation of the future generations of EU flagship
programmes, and coordinate the early technology development to
ensure synergies and cross-fertilisation : as an example technology
developed for Science can benefit Galileo, while technology
developed for Galileo can benefit Exploration.
 In the same manner, Europe cannot afford not to streamline the
implementation and management of all these programmes to
ensure maximum efficiency. With space programmes, the main
difficulty is to control risks, and this requires an important public
expertise, tools, facilities, processes, and infrastructure.
 Space programmes span decades and imply great risks. They
cannot be dealt in the short timeframe of political cycles and
require that programme management decision be separated from
political decisions. Given that there is only a limited market,
industry cannot bear these risks alone, which justifies public
intervention. Public authorities throughout the world thus delegate
the management of the risk of their space programmes to space
agencies. Europe equally needs a space agency.
 While some ESA and EU MS already possess a national space
agency, most of them have engaged in ESA , we should combine
institutionally unique, world class technical and managerial
expertise across all space domains, human capital and laboratories,
testing and launch facilities, and a global infrastructure for space
operations, which allows them to jointly define and efficiently
 implement large and technically challenging space programmes
and respective services and establish successful cooperation with
international partners.
 ESA has been the Agency for the EU until now, which worked very
well for Galileo, and may be even better for Copernicus. In
Copernicus, we had the lowest rate of risk materialisation, the
leanest management, and very effective decision-making.
 I already proposed to the ESA Member States to consolidate ESA as
the space agency of its Member States and for the EU, in order for
the EU to fully rely on the heritage, expertise and infrastructure of
ESA stemming from 50 years of investment. There is no need to
develop a new Space Agency in parallel in Europe, the ramp-up of
which would take decades and cost billions and would therefore in
itself be a major risk to the programmes it manages. We need to
streamline, not double administrative layers.
 I am currently developing a proposal to my Member States to
adapt ESA’s internal decision-making process, so that decisions
taken in ESA that could impact EU programmes are taken by those
ESA Member States that are participating in these programmes,
either as EU Member States or through third party agreements.
This will ensure that any liability towards the European Union
arising from the implementation of these programmes and
activities shall be borne in accordance with the scale of their
contributions for ESA’s activities, and to be normalized among only
those ESA Member States participating in the EU programme or
activity in question.
 These activities are there to secure the current approach to go, but
again I would very much prefer a discussion about a braver way
 forward to secure Europe’s competitiveness in space. Europe’s
future success in the space sector relies on the best use of the
flexibility and synergies. Any future policy for space must strive at
avoiding duplication of existing capacity and expertise and build
the future of the space sector on the expertise of its public
institutions, namely.
 I am thus proposing to take the EU – ESA relationship in space to a
new strategic level. I am proposing to consolidate our respective
programmes and their implementation in a single European Space
Organisation, in order to use European public budgets most
effectively. At the same time, we are using all available expertise
and infrastructures in order to secure the strategic interest of both
ESA Member States and the EU for the long term, while building a
solid partnership, benefiting the whole of Europe, its citizens, and
its space sector.
 To go beyond the existing structures would just be a small step for
us but a giant leap for Europe.
 United Space in Europe…United Europe in Space.

 Thank you.