A Viking legacy, a European future
Charles Galland
Under the Danish Presidency of the Council, Europe is raising its shields once again. Not to conquer new worlds, but to protect its own space.
There is something fitting about this moment. The land of the Vikings, once recognised and feared for its warriors and their round shields, now presides over a European Union determined to defend its place in orbit. Announced as part of the Communication on the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, the European Space Shield is one of four pan-European Defence Flagships “that no Member State can build alone, and that will protect all of Europe”, as Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius put it during the Space for European Resilience Conference on October 28th.
Uncertainties and questions remain over some of the major contributors to ESA
Designed to complement existing EU dual-use capabilities (Positioning, Navigation and Timing with the Galileo Public Regulated Service, geospatial intelligence through the Earth Observation Governmental Service, and secure communications with IRIS²), the European Space Shield aims to incentivize Member States to jointly develop sovereign capabilities. Something that the EU is “outstandingly successfully” doing for European space projects, and “with less success for defence” - Commissioner Kubilius in his own words. The Space Shield is scheduled for launch next Summer. With it, the continent aims to turn a symbol of its past into an instrument for its future.
Protection, however, is not only about technology or regulation (aspects that, in the industry’s view, the EU Space Act in its current form only partially addresses), it is also about means.
With a proposed Ministerial package of slightly below €22 billion, the European Space Agency seeks to safeguard Europe’s autonomy in access to space, strengthen its excellence in Earth observation, navigation, or science, and preserve the industrial capabilities across the 22 optional programmes that will be submitted to ESA Member States for subscription. If Denmark has already earmarked around 160M€ (1.2 BDKK) to boost its voluntary contribution to the European Space Agency over 2026–2028, uncertainties and questions remain over some of the major contributors to ESA; some with deep pockets, others with little to spare, some tempted to follow a national path, and others motivated to act collectively as Europeans.
If, as acknowledged by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher at the recent Eurospace’s Council on October 30th, it is unlikely that all projects will be funded at their desired levels, tough choices will have to be made. ESA Member States will need to balance national priorities with the collective European ambition, ensuring that the most strategic programmes receive the resources required to maintain Europe’s technological autonomy and competitive edge.
In other words, ambition must be matched by collective means: the shield Europe seeks to raise in space cannot be built on intentions alone.
Since 2018, Charles Galland has served as Policy Manager at Eurospace, representing the European space industry at the heart of EU and ESA decision-making. He specialises in shaping space policy and fostering dialogue between institutions and industry.