France and Germany lead push to keep military space powers in national hands

Seven European nations have advocated for a significant overhaul of the European Space Shield, seeking a new space security framework that prioritizes national governments' protection of EU space systems. Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden wish to retain control over their military space capabilities and limit EU involvement to coordination.

The seven countries' proposal, obtained by Euronews, argues the current initiative lacks a clear purpose and scope, as evidenced by the European Commission and the European External Action Service's failure to define these aspects despite three workshops in the past six months. The signatories urge the renaming of the initiative, as the term "shield" implies EU capability development, which conflicts with the seven nations' insistence on national sovereignty over military space resources.

They stress that security and defence responsibility, including procurement, operation, and defense of space systems for security and defense purposes, remains exclusively with member states. The seven governments advocate for EU-wide procurement cooperation for military space capabilities while avoiding duplication and ensuring industry can meet demands.

The core of the proposal is to enhance resilience and defense of EU space systems while respecting national responsibilities in defense and capability development. The nations also see value in enhancing dialogue between national and European authorities on threat response options, vulnerabilities, and technical issues. They call for rationalizing the fragmented space funding landscape, which includes various EU instruments like Horizon Europe, European Investment Bank investments, and the European Defence Fund.