The Province of South Holland, together with representatives from the space sector, knowledge institutions, and companies, has sent an alarming open letter to the government and the House of Representatives. In this letter, they urge the government to reverse its planned cuts to space funding. The government plans to significantly reduce the national contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA). This cut will have a major impact on the Dutch space sector, innovation capacity, and knowledge position.
Cabinet cuts space funding
The cabinet has announced (opens in new window) that the Netherlands will contribute substantially less money to the three-year budget of the European Space Agency ESA than in the previous period. This decision causes great concern in the Dutch space sector. A lower contribution means directly fewer contracts, less research, and fewer jobs at Dutch companies, research institutions, and educational institutions closely collaborating with ESA.
According to the so-called geo-return policy (opens in new window), every euro registered by the Netherlands flows back to its own space sector via ESA. In practice, the Netherlands even receives more euros in investments than the amount the cabinet contributes.
In February this year, the cabinet also acknowledged this in its response to the Long-Term Space Agenda. For this space agenda, all involved ministries, the space sector, and regional governments collaborated. They mapped out how the leading Dutch knowledge and expertise in space can be used for our society and economy.
According to the signatories, the cut is therefore not only bad for space but also for other Dutch high-tech sectors, national innovation capacity, and our knowledge position.
Space technology is indispensable for digital communication, defense and security, international transport, and climate research. It is precisely in these applications that the Netherlands has built worldwide leading knowledge and expertise. By cutting space funding, the cabinet jeopardizes the daily work of Dutch entrepreneurs, researchers, and students in space.
Unique space ecosystem in South Holland
South Holland plays a key role in European space. At NL Space Campus in Noordwijk lies ESA ESTEC, the largest space center in Europe, where more than 4,000 experts work daily on space technology. Around ESTEC, a strong ecosystem of companies, research institutions, and educational institutions (vocational, higher professional, and university education) in space has developed over the past decades. This network provides unique knowledge, jobs, and economic value for South Holland and the whole of the Netherlands.
As a close partner of the space sector, the Province of South Holland co-signed the open letter. Deputy Meindert Stolk, Economy and Innovation, explains why: “For South Holland and the Netherlands, the space sector is indispensable. With NL Space Campus including ESA ESTEC in Noordwijk, but also the high-tech companies and knowledge institutions in Delft, The Hague, and Leiden, our country has a unique ecosystem. Especially now, we urgently need space technology for a future-proof economy, for our European security, and for a livable Earth. We also fear that parts of ESA ESTEC will be lost in Noordwijk and relocated to other ESA member states. This is bad for the regional economy, for the further development of NL Space Campus, and for the earning capacity of the space sector in the Netherlands, 80% of which is located in South Holland. Instead of cutting, the Dutch cabinet should, like other European countries, invest more in space!”
Investing in innovation and future
Space is more than rockets and satellites. Technology from space helps with climate monitoring, water management, agriculture, and security. The sector also provides innovative business activity and high-quality employment.
Therefore, the province calls on the cabinet not to cut space funding and to make an appropriate Dutch contribution to ESA. This way, the Netherlands remains a reliable partner within European space. And governments, companies, and knowledge institutions, together with ESA ESTEC, can continue building a strong space sector that contributes to our society and a future-proof economy.
