Exports and members of the parliament argued that the 27 countries in the EU should pool their space technology, starting with satellites. The hearing was specifically aimed at finding out how a European space policy could support the European defence and security policy.
The only EU-level space projects developed so far are the Galileo satellite navigation network, which is suffering from delays that are more political than technical, and Global Monitoring on Environment and Security (GMES) – a joint project of the EDA and the EU designed to rationalise Europe’s earth observation activities.
According to the European Parliament, experts calculate that €4 billion will be needed over the next 10 years for information gathering and communication.