Macron and von der Leyen call for Europe to act at scale in space
The French president and European Commission president urged Europe to strengthen its position in space, but no specific programme or funding commitment was reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have called on Europeans to act on a large scale to strengthen the region’s position in space.
The appeal, reported by France 24 International, framed Europe’s challenge against the United States and China across areas including communications and crewed spaceflight.
Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Assistant Professor of Space and International Relations and Deputy Director of the West Space Scholars Programme at Johns Hopkins University, said Europe had world-class scientific and industrial capabilities, as well as ambitions in space.
But she said Europe lacked the investment, launch frequency, scale and political integration that the United States and China possess.
The report did not specify concrete measures proposed by Macron or von der Leyen, nor did it identify a formal programme or funding commitment.
