Rise Above?

The current scientific and economic objectives of ESA’s and EU’s space missions and infrastructures are set in a highly political landscape of European industry and internal political dynamics, and Europe’s strategic alignment against great powers such as China, America and Russia. Despite the increasing political and economic importance of space research and exploration, legal competencies and policy activities of the EU and ESA still stand apart. This fragmentation in space policy, which is additionally flanked by national space strategies of the EU member countries, activities of the intergovernmental organization EUMETSAT and several intergovernmental bodies for satellite communications, bears important consequences and challenges for the near future of a coherent and competitive EU space policy. This Webinar seeks to identify the challenges ahead and discusses potential pathways of the future European space policy.