Council Warns About Europe Slipping Behind in Space Field

The European Economic and Social Committee is warning the European Commission that action is needed by member governments if Europe is not to become an also-ran in the race to use space for commercial development.

In an opinion issued earlier this month in its Green Paper on European Space Policy, the committee warned: “The stakes are high: does the European Union have the political will and the economic clout to maintain its autonomy and remain among the elite in the world of space? Will ‘old Europe’ act with determination, vigor and confidence in the future or will it let itself become a vast retirement home for nations which were once great?”

The European Commission and European Space Agency plan to issue final space policy recommendations and action plan based on the green paper and the feedback it has received on its proposals by the end of the year.