As space activities have become increasingly commercialised and important for future research, the European Union has agreed on a proposal to boost Europe’s competitiveness in satellite navigation and Earth observation systems. The political agreement on December 16^th 2020, between the EU Council and European Parliament, consists of a regulation which establishes the next EU space programme for the years 2021 to 2027, under the Horizon Europe research and innovation framework.

Content of the agreement

The programme will be funded by a financial envelope of €14.8 billion which consists of the following parts:

• For the Galileo global satellite-based navigation system and the EGNOS regional satellite-based augmentation system, the fund will provide €9.01 billion
• The European Union’s Earth Observation Programme (Copernicus) will receive €5.42 billion
• The Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) programs will receive €442 million

The new framework will streamline existing EU legal agreements on space policy and provide the European Space Program with adequate space budget to continue and improve on existing space flagship programmes, such as EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus. Lastly, the new agreement will also provide a stronger framework for security in the European Union. With the ‘Space Situational Awareness’ programme (SSA) and the use of secure satellite communications for national authorities, the EU will become stronger and more secure. 

The new regulation will ensure the competitiveness of the European Union in the world on space programs by providing:

• high-quality, state of the art and secure space-related data and services
• increased growth and job creation in the EU by the use of acquired data and services
• enhanced security and autonomy of the EU
• a stronger role for the EU as a leading actor in the global space sector

Goal of the programme

The main goals of the new space programme and the funding which is made available is to secure EU leadership in space activities, foster innovative industries, safeguard autonomous access to space and to simplify governance. The space programme will foster innovative industries by cooperating with private actors to boost competitiveness of the EU and to keep up with the latest developments in space technology.

Image © European Commission, 2020