Macron and von der Leyen call for decisive European action in space

French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen jointly called on Thursday for European nations to take large-scale action to secure their standing in the global space race, competing with the United States and China across both communications technology and crewed spaceflight.

Expert assessment

Speaking to FRANCE 24 journalist Sharon Gaffney, Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Assistant Professor of Space and International Relations and Deputy Director of the West Space Scholars Programme at Johns Hopkins University, addressed the state of Europe's space ambitions. She noted that Europe already possesses world-class scientific and industrial capabilities, along with clear aspirations to expand its role in space.

However, according to Ben-Itzhak, several structural gaps prevent Europe from matching its rivals. These include insufficient levels of investment, a lower rate of rocket launches, a smaller overall industrial scale, and a lack of the political integration among member states that both the US and China are able to draw on.

Context

The statements from Macron and von der Leyen come as space is increasingly viewed not merely as a scientific and technological domain, but as a strategically important arena of international competition. Their call suggests growing pressure within Europe to pool member states' resources and political will, in an effort to reduce reliance on outside powers and strengthen the continent's capacity to act independently in space.