France downplays SpaceX, Blue Origin snub of ‘worst Macron-organized’ summit
Next week's Paris space summit has more going against it than a Trump-organized shun.
French President Emmanuel Macron's international space summit is facing challenges as American space giants SpaceX and Blue Origin skipped the event at the last minute, under pressure from the White House. The summit, scheduled for this week in Paris, aims to discuss issues such as space regulation, competitiveness, security, defense, and exploration.
About 120 international delegations were invited, with Chinese officials expected to attend. However, the gathering has been described as poorly coordinated, with unclear outcomes and a lack of clarity about its purpose. A senior space expert noted that the summit is falling behind schedule and hasn't been properly coordinated with major European space sector players.
The absence of SpaceX and Blue Origin is not expected to significantly impact the summit, according to the French presidency, as there are still American companies participating and announcements planned. However, participants expressed concerns about the summit's structure and clarity about participation, schedule, and goals. The logistics of the event are also chaotic, with invitations sent late and negotiations for final declarations already underway.
Despite these issues, European officials and space industry representatives hope the summit will help boost Europe's space sector profile, as the EU faces challenges and strained relations with the U.S. over space policy.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
