Europe’s space sector faces power shift as funding grows

WASHINGTON — A new report highlights a shift in Europe’s space sector that could alter who sets priorities for billions of dollars in satellite programs tied to security and defense.

The European Union is increasing funding and reorienting its space program toward military and security uses, a move that could position Brussels as a central driver of European space policy, according to the report, written by analyst Michael Gleason, of The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy.

“With the benefit of the European Space Agency’s technical expertise and with the EU’s and ESA’s combined ability to pool resources from across their member states, the EU could soon position itself as the foremost space actor in Europe and a leading global actor in space security and defense,” Gleason wrote.

The report, titled “A Geopolitical Awakening: The European Union and Space,” argues that a potential doubling or tripling of EU space spending — alongside rising national and European Space Agency budgets — could accelerate Europe’s long-standing push for “strategic autonomy” in space.

The European Union, a bloc of 27 countries with its own budget and regulatory authority, already funds and oversees a growing portfolio of satellite systems used across the continent. In July, the European Commission proposed a 2028–2034 budget that would increase defense and space spending fivefold to roughly $150 billion over seven years.

Gleason describes Europe’s space ecosystem as divided among three centers of power: the EU, intergovernmental organizations such as the European Space Agency and EUMETSAT, and national space programs.

He says that balance is expected to shift.

The EU is evolving into “the central political and financial driver of European space,” while ESA remains the technical backbone and individual countries retain control over military capabilities, the report says.

One key lever is funding. About a quarter of ESA’s budget already comes from the EU, and that share could exceed 50% within a few years if proposed spending increases are approved, Gleason said.

“I’m predicting, based on my analysis, that the EU could be providing over 50% of the European Space Agency’s budget,” he said. “If that happens, that would give the EU a lot more weight on European Space Agency priorities.”

Such a shift could pull ESA — historically focused on civil space programs — further into developing security and defense capabilities for the EU.

The EU already owns major space systems that underpin navigation, Earth observation, communications and tracking. These include the Galileo satellite navigation system, the Copernicus Earth observation program and EGNOS, which enhances navigation signals for aviation.

Other efforts include GOVSATCOM, which pools secure satellite communications for government and military users, and IRIS², a planned broadband constellation aimed at reducing reliance on non-European providers. The bloc also operates a space surveillance network and an intelligence center that processes satellite imagery for policymakers.

Some of the anticipated increase in spending is expected to go toward protecting those systems from threats such as anti-satellite weapons and electronic interference, Gleason said.

At the same time, national governments are expanding their own military space ambitions, raising the risk of duplication and friction.

Germany, for example, has outlined plans for a roughly $12 billion, 100-satellite communications constellation that would operate alongside the EU’s IRIS² system. Some European officials worry such parallel efforts could fragment the region’s defense space architecture, undercutting the EU’s push to pool resources and achieve scale.

The result is a more complex landscape in which Brussels is gaining influence, but not full control — setting up potential tension between collective European programs and national efforts to maintain sovereign capabilities.

“Many Americans are not aware that the European Union is heavily involved in space activity,” Gleason said.