As the EU launched its new space programme last
June, the European Committee of the Regions warns
about the duplication of structures and requests
that available funding focuses on the space
industry and its market development
The importance of
satellite data is essential in today's economy not
least under unpredictable geopolitical
environments. The European Committee of the Regions
(CoR) s
upports the European Commission's (EC) vision of
the EU Strategy for Space, and its implementation
through €16 billion Space Programme
. Yet, members request the
Commission to clarify on the development of space
hubs, to avoid
duplication of administrative structures and to
focus on the market development of space
technologies and services along with formal and
informal education programmes that can inspire new
generations of researchers and entrepreneurs in the
space domain. The EU is investing €12 billion over
2014-2020 to develop high quality space projects (
EC
).
The European Committee of the Regions adopted an
opinion on
'The space programme of the Union and the
European Union Agency for the Space Programme'
last plenary session on 5-6 December.
The EU's assembly of local and regional representatives
is contributing to the EC new space programme presented
on 6 June 2018. The new proposal intends to enhance the
EU's space initiatives and leading space industry worth
€53-62 billion in 2017 with over 231.000 employees.
Rapporteur Andres Jaadla (ET/ALDE) declared:
"Space technologies, data and services can support
numerous policies and key political priorities,
including the competitiveness of the European economy,
migration, climate change, the Digital Single Market
and sustainable management of natural resources. We
must maximise the potential of space data and services
for the sustainable development of our cities and
regions, through the creation of space hubs and
technology incubators for SMEs and by developing new
market opportunities and educational programmes to
fully exploit the uptake of the space domain".
Members call on the European Commission to further
clarify and elaborate on the concept and creation of
space hubs and innovation partnerships, more
specifically on the financial and management
responsibilities of different actors.
The CoR welcomes the proposal for a Space Surveillance
and Tracking System (SST). Yet it asks the European
Commission to clarify its scope including the ways
through which stakeholders will be involved and
existing services integrated. Besides, SST, the
Commission's proposal includes GOVSATCOM, a new
initiative on Governmental Satellite Communications .
Data from Copernicus should be further widespread and
additional measures should be deployed to facilitate
data access for SMEs, members' claim.
The CoR requests to closely monitor the potential
duplication of administrative structures, in particular
between the GSA (European Global Navigation Satellite
Systems Agency) and the European Space Agency (ESA)
EU cities and regions request to prioritise the
allocation of financial resources for space industry
development over new organizational structures.
The CoR welcomes the €4 billion budget increase. Yet
members demand that the up-take budget for
EGNOS/Galileo does not cover costs of new
administrative structures but focus exclusively on
market development.
CoR memebrs regret that the Horizon programme does not
include dedicated funding on space. Synergies between
research and industry are not emphasized enough,
Members say.
It is crucial that businesses, universities and
research institutes continue and increase their
participation in programmes of the European Space
Agency (ESA), members agree. The CoR requests the EU
SME instrument to scale-up entrepreneurship and
business opportunities in space-based products and
services.
Space technologies and applications have the potential
to inspire new generations of researchers and
entrepreneurs in Europe. In the adopted opinion, the
CoR recommends to public authorities to support formal
and informal educational measures to inspire young
students.
The CoR recommends to public authorities to create
market-oriented funding instruments for small and
medium-sized firms for the further development and
market uptake of space technologies, including specific
support to technology incubators for start-ups in the
space domain.
Members denounce the lack of a level playing field in
the space domain. Countries with large defence sectors
have a competitive advantage that Europe must remedy by
equalling market conditions and support across Europe,
with a particular attention to small countries due to
limited human and financial resources.
EU cities and regions recommend finding additional
synergies in cyber security, key in space activities
such as ground segment and data protection.
The CoR requests the European Commission to better
specify how the new programme will interact with
commercial suppliers of security-related data and to
better specify cooperation with private entities
including joint procurement options.
Background:
The former Mayor of the Estonian city of Rakvere and
now city councillor Andres Jaadla (ET/ALDE) is the
rapporteur of the CoR
opinion on a Space Strategy for Europe
adopted at the plenary session of October 2017.
October 2016 EC Press Release
. Commission space policy puts focus on improving
people's daily lives and boosting Europe's
competitiveness
Galileo
Galileo is Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS), providing improved positioning and timing
information with significant positive implications for
many European services and users.
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
refers to a constellation of satellites providing
signals from space that transmit positioning and timing
data. The receivers then use this data to determine
location. By definition, GNSS provides global coverage.
Examples of GNSS include Europe’s
Galileo
, the USA’s NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS),
Russia’s GLONASS and China’s BeiDou Navigation
Satellite System.
Copernicus
Copernicus
is the European Union's Earth Observation Programme,
looking at our planet and its environment for the
ultimate benefit of all European citizens. It offers
information services based on satellite Earth
Observation and in situ (non-space) data. The
information provided by the Copernicus services can be
used by end users for a wide range of applications in a
variety of areas. These include urban area management,
sustainable development and nature protection, regional
and local planning, agriculture, forestry and
fisheries, health, civil protection, infrastructure,
transport and mobility, as well as tourism.
The Copernicus programme is coordinated and managed by
the European Commission. The development of the
observation infrastructure is performed under the aegis
of the European Space Agency for the space component
and of the European Environment Agency and the Member
States for the in situ component.
GOVSATCOM
refers to
Governmental Satellite Communications
(GovSatcom)
.
Photos of the Plenary Session are
available here
.
Contact:
David Crous |
david.crous@cor.europa.eu
| +32 (0) 470 88 10 37