16-07-2025
MEPs push back against lack of dedicated EU space budget
Despite strong efforts by MEPs to secure a dedicated space budget line in the European Commission's new near €2 trillion spending plan for 2028–2034, no such provision appears in the proposal tabled on 16 July.
The Commission has instead decided to merge numerous funds into a single €451 billion European Competitiveness Fund so it can be more adaptable to shifting political priorities.
"Europe will miss the opportunity to assert its sovereignty in space," French socialist MEP and vice-chair of the sky and space intergroup, François Kalfon, told Euractiv of the decision to scrap a specific space pot.
French centrist and former rapporteur for the secure telecommunications satellites regulation covering the IRIS² programme, Christophe Grudler, also said that the European Parliament is seeking to amend the proposal, adding: "You cannot just hand out billions blindly."
Last month, a group of cross-party, space-focused MEPs had urged the Commission to allocate a dedicated €60 billion space budget in the next MFF, or multiannual financial framework, matching the industry's top estimates for funding the bloc's space ambitions.
Unlike other industries, space companies provide satellites and maintenance services to the EU's operational constellations – such as Earth observation program Copernicus, geolocation system Galileo, and the upcoming secure communications system IRIS².
The lack of a dedicated space budget is a U-turn for an industry which has become accustomed to planning investments around predictable public procurement by the EU, set in stone since 2021 in a space funding scheme of €18.7 billion.
Under the new approach, the Commission has allocated €131 billion to "resilience and security, defence industry, and space" – but without any breakdown between different budget lines.
This means the budget for space is unknown and could fluctuate based on changing priorities.
The decision to cut out a dedicated space envelope has drawn swift criticisms from MEPs considering that without a dedicated budget line the bloc's space industry could struggle to plan major investments to operate and maintain the bloc's three major constellations.
(nl)
