How to get the European space industry off the ground?
In order to make its voice heard on the international stage, Europe must find its place among the major space powers: the United States and China in particular. Space has become a major geostrategic challenge, a political and economic playground where the power of persuasion and the power of coercion are at stake.
Following the 2017 note entitled Space: Will Europe Strike Back?, Institut Montaigne has continued its study of risks and opportunities for Europe in relation to space affairs. In February 2019, it held a Franco-German seminar on space issues to explore new routes for additional European cooperation in that field.
Drawn up by three European experts - one French, one Finnish and one German - this note takes stock of recent trends and issues in the space sector. It analyses Europe's current position in New Space, highlighting the potential and limits of the space policy pursued by the European Union in recent years and makes five public policy proposals aimed at making Europe a real space power.