By Martin Banks

The  Brussels-based European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has urged the EU to step up public and private investment in space.

The Committee also advises increasing the funds allocated to the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (covering 2028–2034).

The EESC demands immediate structural measures in space investment and recommends increasing this to at least 0.2% of the EU’s GDP by 2030.

In an opinion, drawn up by Angelo Pagliara, the Committee points out that this boost would allow Europe to gradually close the gap with the US and China, making the EU a world leader in the space sector.

Europe’s investment in space is significantly smaller than that of its main competitors, says the EESC. The EU currently allocates only 0.07% of its GDP to space activities, compared to an average of 0.25% in the US, and higher levels still in China, India and Japan, it states.

“This structural imbalance undermines Europe’s ability to foster autonomous innovation, maintain strategic critical infrastructure and combat dependence on technologies, data and services from third countries,’ said Pagliara, adding ‘We need to increase European public investment in the space sector”.

The EESC opinion assesses the European Commission’s EU Space Act and endorses its intention to enhance the space single market.

 In order to make space activities sustainable, safe and resilient, the EU needs an immediate structural boost to its public investment in space activities, it says, adding that this means that the Union must take urgent action and adopt ambitious industrial policies, otherwise the objectives of the Commission’s proposal will not be met.

At the same time, the EESC underlines that it is important to have a clear regulatory framework in place to attract private investment. This must go hand in hand with an industrial and technological strategy that maximises economic and social return for Europeans, defines tools to reduce dependency on critical supplies from outside Europe and supports the development of European launch capabilities.

The Committee also urges the Commission to link the European Space Strategy to European strategic autonomy and to encourage complementary ecosystems and the multiplier effect of the space economy in support of specific sectors. These include precision farming, artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, orbital energy, environmental monitoring and telemedicine.

 The space economy has great economic potential, to which the EU should pay more attention, says the EESC. According to the Draghi report, its global value reached EUR 572 billion in 2023 and is expected to exceed EUR 1 628 billion by 2035, with an annual growth rate of over 9%. The space economy also needs to be linked with other European policies and strategies, including the Green Deal and the twin transition, and the Commission should offer guidance to Member States as to how EU law can foster such synergies.

On this note, and with reference to the EU Agency for the Space Programme, the EESC says that it agrees with the Commission that the agency’s operational role should be strengthened so that it can provide national administrations with technical assistance, guidance and coordination support.