EU Space a bedrock for building a more autonomous Europe
European Union autonomy may be the buzzword of the day, but the concept is anything but new. In fact, the EU has been working towards strategic autonomy for years, with EU Space playing a central role in that effort.
" Strategic autonomy isn’t just a vision — it’s a reality being built through EU Space. With programmes like Galileo and Copernicus, we are ensuring European Union’s autonomy in key strategic areas" confirmed Rodrigo da Costa, EUSPA Executive Director.
For example, seeing society’s growing dependency on satellite positioning, the EU had the foresight to build Galileo, European Union’s very own GNSS system.
With Galileo, Europe no longer needs to rely on other countries’ positioning systems. This is important as satellite positioning has become an essential service that is often taken for granted. Just think what would happen if GNSS signals were suddenly switched off. Truck and taxi drivers, ship and aircraft crews and millions of people around the world would suddenly be lost. Furthermore, financial and communication activities, public utilities, security and humanitarian operations and emergency services would all come to a standstill. The addition of Galileo helps minimise these risks.
Energy independence starts with EU Space
Today, Galileo not only provides an accuracy superior to any other GNSS system, it serves as a bedrock for building further autonomy. For instance, Galileo is a key enabler of REPowerEU, the European Commission’s plan for achieving energy independence by reducing imported energy and fast tracking the green transition.
Read more: Repowering the EU from Space
Specifically, Galileo’s precise positioning services can be used to maintain renewable energy infrastructure and smart grid systems. These same grids also rely on GNSS clocks as a time reference. However, to reduce the risk of outages, the GNSS signals used by smart grids must be resilient against interference. Here, not only does Galileo offer grid operators increased accuracy and robustness, the Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) adds an extra layer of protection.
From food security to reducing Europe’s reliance on imported raw materials
But it’s not just Galileo that contributes to EU strategic autonomy, the entire EU Space Programme plays a role. For example, as Europe looks to enhance its food security, reduce its reliance on imported food and promote sustainable food production, it can depend on the support of EU Space.
The agriculture sector is leveraging Copernicus data to help monitor crop seasons and quantify the areas to be planted and, later, harvested. In addition, it can use GNSS and Earth Observation data to determine where to apply fertilisers and pesticides, thereby reducing their use by as much as 20% while increasing crop yields by more than 10%.
Dig deeper: 10 ways EU Space helps fight global hunger
EU Space also plays a pivotal role in Europe’s efforts to mitigate its dependence on imported raw materials. With the mining sector using GNSS and Earth Observation for everything from exploration to site approval, construction, operations and closure, EU Space is helping ensure the rare earth independence envisioned by the Critical Raw Materials Act.
Space a key component to EU security and defence
The EU has made space a key component in its security and defence, a concept that has been enshrined in the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence. The strategy aims to protect Europe’s space assets, defend its interests, deter hostile activities in space and strengthen its strategic autonomy.
Autonomy is also a driving force behind the EU’s investment in such new, security-oriented space infrastructure as the GOVSATCOM, IRIS2 and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programmes.
By driving EU Space market growth, EUSPA helps advance EU strategic autonomy
Speaking of fostering competitiveness, EU Space is at the heart of the EU’s common economic prosperity, competitiveness, sovereignty, security, resilience and global influence.
According to EUSPA’s latest EO & GNSS Market Report, the EU Space market is growing – and growing fast, with GNSS and Earth Observation combined global revenues set to increase from more than EUR 260 billion in 2023 to nearly EUR 590 billion by 2033. Meanwhile, the demand for Secure SATCOM services is expected to grow by a factor of 14 over the 2025–2040 period, to reach almost 190 Gbps in 2040.
This market growth is great news for the EU, whose economic resilience stands to benefit from the market adoption of EU Space technologies. It’s also good news for citizens and businesses, both of whom increasingly rely on space-based data and services.
Helping to drive this market growth is EUSPA
Whether it be through funding mechanisms, competitions, market insights or business support, EUSPA is building an innovative and uniquely European space sector capable of delivering the services and solutions that will advance our global competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
You can learn about how EUSPA supports European competitiveness and autonomy here. Alternatively, you can contact our market development team at market@euspa.europa.eu.
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