Madame President,
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our space industry requires scale and fast access in domestic and export markets.
A single market for space as Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, in their reports, urged us to materialise. In order to avoid its fragmentation. We need an EU Space Act to establish the right conditions for such a single market. And we need to design it together.
I am grateful to the Danish Presidency and to all Member States for the excellent proceedings as outlined in the Presidency progress report.
The importance of a Space Single Market
The EU Space Act is the first European regulatory answer to the complex challenges we face in space.
On one hand: safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities. On the other hand, regulatory divergence within the Union with more and more of different national regulations appearing each year on the level of Member States.
The Commission has made a deliberate choice for a regulatory approach that comprehensively tackles these challenges. For a stable, predictable and competitive business environment. For transparency and level-playing field.
The essence: a common set of technical rules considering what we are already doing in Europe “by practice”. A single set of common requirements revolving around three pillars: safety, resilience and environmental sustainability. This comprehensive, three-pillar approach is the only way to ensure a level playing field and to address our vulnerabilities.
This is not the first time we do this. Europe took a similar approach for civil aviation, where with special regulations we established a set of common rules with the support of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Industry confirms the strategic value of this approach to support our technological sovereignty and competitiveness.
Forward-looking approach
Throughout the legislative process the Commission has offered full support to the co-legislators to shape this proposal. While important work remains to be done, the progress achieved clearly sets the foundations for shaping a pragmatic EU Space Act that works for all.
I will now focus on three points from the Progress Report of the Presidency.
First, simplification and clarification of the text. The biggest simplification is to have one single set of rules, instead of 27 different sets of rules.
In most of my meetings with industry, I hear the same main argument supporting the Act: one instead of multiple regulations is a true game changer for businesses. Take for instance satellite operators who use control centres in multiple locations, to reduce risks. This means different authorisations with different technical requirements depending on the hosting member state. Or consider launch services: companies often plan to use multiple launch bases to optimise orbit injection. Again: different requirements by different Member States. This fragmented approach limits economies of scale, slows down developments and increases costs and bottlenecks for companies.
Having listened to you, I agree we can and should do more to further simplify the EU Space Act. This includes governance aspects and relations with our trusted partners, in particular the European Space Agency.
But I want to make one point clear. The Act does not overhaul the existing authorisation system. The Act does not take over national and international competences and responsibilities. To respond to possible concerns, I want to assure you - these competences stay firmly with the Member States.
Second, space and cybersecurity. The in-depth discussions in the Council helped to create consensus on the specific cybersecurity needs of the space sector and the existing gaps to address them. At the same time, they confirm the strong political call to maintain the NIS2 directive as the common baseline. The Commission therefore positively assesses the compromise proposal by the Danish Presidency.
Third, the legal basis and the legal instrument of choice. Here the Commission remains convinced of the legal robustness of its approach.
This is an Act that seeks to establish a well-functioning Single Market for Space.To this end, it addresses existing and emerging obstacles to ensure the dynamic growth of the space ecosystem in Europe.
To be successful in this ambitious endeavour, we need to have trust and transparency at a level that can only be guaranteed by uniform application of rules. In other words, a regulation. We need to fully harness the strengths of the biggest single market in the world to fully unleash our economic potential in space.
Only a regulation will ensure consistency and legal certainty across the internal market. Establishing a functioning internal market for space-based data and space services, encourage investments in the space industry and reinforce the security and strategic autonomy of the EU. But it also sends a clear message to our global partners and third countries. A message of unity, strength and resilience at times of increasing global uncertainty and practices of economic diplomacy that defy the rules of the game.
Ministers, to conclude. I am grateful for your engagement. I remain committed in delivering the best solution for Europe together with you. We are opting for a simple single market in a constructive spirit.
Making the EU Space Act a success is essential both for the competitiveness of the Union but also for our global standing.
Thank you.
Concluding Remarks
This has been a very rich and insightful debate pointing to the strategic significance of the objectives set out in the Act.
We take note of the positions and concerns expressed by Member States. The Commission believes that during the Danish Presidency significant progress has been made to further streamline and clarify the Act in line with Member States positions.
This sets strong foundations that will allow EU co-legislators to arrive to the pragmatic and workable solutions required to make the act a success, in terms of the competitiveness of the sector but also for the Unions global standing.
Indeed, both the work of the Presidency and the insightful debate it organised today will be key in paving the way for further progress under the Cypriot Presidency.
This progress is also mirrored on the European Parliament side.
The Commission remains focused on the formal legislative procedure and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the co-legislators in their deliberations with a view to a successful conclusion of the legislative process.
