Commission proposes EU Space Act to boost market access and strengthen space safety

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Today, the European Commission has proposed the EU Space Act, a new set of ambitious measures to make Europe’s space sector cleaner, safer and more competitive in Europe and its export markets. 

Europe’s space rules are currently fragmented, with many different national approaches. This patchwork holds back innovation, reduces the European market share and creates extra costs. A clear and harmonised framework at European level will ensure safety, resilience, and environmental responsibility across the Union, while helping companies grow and scale up across borders. 

The EU Space Act intends to cut red tape, protect space assets, and create a fair, predictable playing field for businesses.  

The proposal rests on three key pillars: 

• Safety: space is becoming more congested. Today, 11 000 satellites are in orbit, and another 50 000 are expected to launch over the next decade. At the same time, more than 128 million pieces of debris are already circulating in space, sharply increasing the risk of collisions. In a worst-case scenario, this could trigger cascading crashes that render key orbits unusable and cut off access to vital satellite services. To prevent this, the EU Space Act introduces measures to improve the tracking of space objects and limit new debris — including requirements for safe satellite disposal at the end of their operational life. 

• Resilience: space is becoming more contested. Space infrastructures face growing threats from cyberattacks and electronic interference targeting satellites, ground stations, and communication links. These attacks can lead to the loss of satellites or disruption of critical services. The EU Space Act will therefore require all space operators to conduct thorough risk assessments throughout a satellite’s lifecycle, applying cybersecurity rules and incident reporting tailored to the space sector.  

• Sustainability: As space activities grow, managing resources, CO2 emissions and debris becomes vital. Measuring environmental impacts allows the industry to cut its footprint and support EU sustainability. The EU Space Act will set common rules to measure these impacts. These rules will ensure consistent verified data and encourage innovation in areas such as in-space servicing to extend satellite life and reduce debris. 

The new rules would apply to both EU and national space assets, as well as to non-EU operators offering services in Europe. Regulatory requirements will be adapted to company size and level of maturity, and measured against the risks involved.  

Support will be offered to mitigate potential costs for the industry. This included capacity building, access to testing facilities, and helping space operators to prepare their applications for authorisation. This will in particular support start-ups and SMEs.  

Alongside the EU Space Act, the Commission has also presented today a Vision for the European Space Economy to tackle the evolving global space economy and the challenges posed by international competition and geopolitical tensions. Space is a high growth market sector contributing to the EU’s competitiveness. The sector encompasses European space industry (manufacturing and services), space services in numerous market sectors – from climate and environment, agriculture to energy, transport, insurance and banking or security and defence.  

Next Steps 

The legislative proposal is subject to negotiations in the European Parliament and in the Council, under the ordinary legislative procedure. 

The Commission will now proceed to implementing the actions set out in the Vision, in close cooperation with the EU Member States, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and other space partners, notably space industry.  

The Commission will also establish a ‘Space Team Europe’, a high-level forum bringing together all European space ecosystem stakeholders, to federate European space-related excellence and capacities in a coherent and efficient manner. In addition, as from 2025, the Commission will develop a dedicated methodology to monitor the EU’s competitiveness in the space sector. 

Background 

The European Commission has identified the space economy and the EU Space Act as a key priority, as outlined in the Draghi and Letta reports, and more recently in the Competitiveness Compass and the Commission work programme for 2025. 

The need for such a legislative initiative was also reflected in two recent Joint Communications: the EU Approach for Space Traffic Management and the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence, echoing Member States’ calls for establishing, through a coherent and stable regulatory framework, an internal market for space activities.