ESP background

By the beginning of the 21st century, it has become clear that space applications have a strong impact on the daily life of European citizens and are essential for a sustainable economy and society. Furthermore, by providing Europe with autonomous decision-making capabilities and safeguarding its global competitive position, they also have strategic importance in terms of enabling it to exert global leadership in selected policy areas. This is why the European Union has become increasingly involved in space activities and the need for a comprehensive space policy has become widely recognised.

The ESP will allow Europe to respond to competition from highly ambitious and capable emerging space powers, safeguard its interests and remain an indispensable international partner, by providing a more coherent and effective framework for its activities and, equally importantly, a stronger political profile for the field.

The joint recognition of these factors by the EU, ESA and their member countries has fuelled the process eventually leading to the ESP. The ESP is the culmination of a decade-long process, characterised by landmarks such as the adoption of a series of parallel EU and ESA Council Resolutions, the EC-ESA Framework Agreement in 2004, the European Commission's Green Paper [276 KB] and White Paper [445 KB] , the orientations given by the Space Council, and the initiation of major flagship applications to be financed and delivered jointly by the EU and ESA.

This process has paralleled a growing momentum in EU-ESA collaboration. However, the significance of the European Space Policy lies in the fact that it is the first wholly joint document addressing all dimensions of space activities, compiled and adopted after extensive consultations with member countries of the EU and ESA, as well as industry and other key stakeholders, and given an endorsement by those member countries.