On 25th June, EU Defence and Space Commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, unveiled the EU Space Act, a legislative initiative aimed at harmonising space activity regulation across the EU.
The Act seeks to create a unified legal framework to boost the safety, resilience, and sustainability of the EU space sector, while enhancing its global competitiveness.
The Draghi and Letta reports recently highlighted space as a strategic sector for EU competitiveness and the Single Market.
Yet, the current regulatory landscape remains fragmented: 13 Member States have national space laws – each with varying legal standards. This fragmentation has led to duplicative authorisation processes, compliance burdens, and legal uncertainty – especially for operators active across borders.
The Act therefore aims to address these gaps by building a true Single Market for space – streamlining rules and creating a business-friendly environment for innovation and growth. The proposal is structured around three core pillars: safety, resilience and sustainability.
Space is increasingly contested and congested. Over 11,000 satellites are currently in orbit, with projections of more than 50,000 new launches in the next decade.
Given all this space traffic, there is a serious risk of debris from satellites and other celestial objects colliding with satellites. The regulation aims to improve the tracking of space objects and limit the production of new debris, including new requirements for the disposal of satellites at the end of their operational life.
The Act also wants to ensure the resilience of the sector in EU member states against other global powers – including the United States and China – and the threat of physical and cyber-attacks on space infrastructure. To address these risks, the Act will introduce mandatory risk assessments concerning the entire lifecycle of suppliers’ satellites – applying the latest security parameters and the prompt reporting of any incidents.
Sustainability-wise, the Act aims to introduce common standards to reduce the industry’s environmental footprint – primarily through technological innovation – such as new maintenance methods to prolong the life of space assets and limit the amount of debris orbiting Earth.
The Act will apply both to EU and Member States’ space assets and to non-EU operators offering their services within the EU. This means that it will impact global space competitors from around the world, including US-based giants like SpaceX and similar enterprises in China. This will put the EU in direct competition with these markets for dominance in space services – particularly in satellite communications and internet services.
The Act is expected to be fully implemented by 2030, with a two-year period of adjustment before regulations take effect.
While the Act was generally welcomed by EU stakeholders, concerns have since been raised by influential Members States – including Germany and Italy – who wish for a less restrictive legal approach, and by others fearful that the new legislation will potentially increase regulatory burdens that could hurt the competitiveness of the EU space market.
While still only at the proposal stage, this initiative marks a pivotal step toward consolidating Europe’s role as a global space power – underpinned by regulation that fosters growth, safeguards assets, and protects the orbital environment.
