Main Engine Cut OffEU Draft Space Policy Calls For More Military Involvement
Any EU space policy with real teeth is likely to meet resistance in some European capitals, and perhaps at the 22-nation European Space Agency (ESA) as well. Several EU nations, notably Germany, have made clear they do not want the EU to usurp power and responsibility from ESA.
The reasoning is that ESA guarantees that member states’ investment will return in the form of contracts to each government’s national industry. The EU has no such policy and tries to award contracts on value-for-money bases only.
A tug-of-war like this between ESA and the EU could have some harmful fallout, especially with tensions already high after the Brexit referendum.