The Development of the European Space Policy and the Role of the European Parliament (original) (raw)
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The role of the European parliament in the development of a European union space policy
Space Policy, 2012
This paper investigates the role of the European Parliament (EP) in the development of the space policy of the EU (EUSP), an important policy area that has been neglected in the political science and EU studies literature. EUSP is the offspring of the European space policy which started as a purely intergovernmental affair, but gradually acquired a supranational dimension. Although the EP did little to initiate this process, it always supported the involvement of the EU in space, and it used both its formal and informal powers to affect and promote its development. Under the consultation procedure the EP managed to become a conditional agenda setter, and under co-decision an influential legislation maker. The changes it introduced in the European global navigation satellite and Earth observation programmes relate not only to the inter-institutional balance and its controlling powers, but to a series of substantive issues also. Consequently, the activism of the EP has played an important part in the development of the EUSP, even if it was not the main force behind its inception.
Legitimizing European Space Policy
Outer space is dark, expensive and dangerous. As a result, the development of a European Space Policy needs all the political support it can get, especially because it involves the transfer of national sovereignty at the EU level. The European Parliament has played an instrumental role in this respect. By analyzing all the space resolutions since 1979, I show that the EP has always promoted the cause of a European Space Policy, and that if has adjusted its argumentation over time to maintain the momentum.
2018
The European Parliament has co-legislating authority on the EU’s space policy, and space has an increasingly important security and research dimension. Therefore, it is crucial to know what the EP’s stance is on space. Rather than taking a snapshot, the chapter will look at development of the EP’s positions toward a European space policy. Drawing on EP space resolutions and on personal interviews with MEPs and EP officials, the chapter’s main goals are to show: (1) that the EP is not shy to talk openly about the EU’s space programs being used for security purposes, (2) that the EP started pushing for a European space policy early on (earlier than other EU institutions), and (3) that research has been instrumentalized to build an EU space policy that has a security/military dimension.
European Parliament, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, 24 October, 2001
Contribution to DRAFT OPINION, on Europe and Space: Turning to a new chapter (COM(2000)597 – C5-0146/2001 – 2001/2072 (COS)), of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy for the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy. Draftsman: Ioannis Souladakis, European parliament. The Justification of the Greek contribution to the originally aforementioned proposed document is as follows: 1. The Commission document links the strategy for space and the technical means for implementing this policy. The draftsman takes the view that this document should be simpler and address only the strategy and not the technical means for implementing it, which is the business of the space programme. 2. The document under consideration, which was drawn up by the Commission together with the ESA, attaches limited importance to the use of space for international security and has three objectives: - 'strengthening the foundation for space activities', - 'enhancing scientific knowledge for a better understanding of our planet' and - ' reaping the benefits for markets and society'. The draftsman would add a further point: - to strengthen the implementation of CFSP in this field in order to establish a European presence in the use of space, especially after the tragic events of 11 September 2001. 3. CFSP is covered only by the third objective of the strategy document, and is further limited in scope in the analysis of this objective, since CFSP is associated exclusively with the thematic area of global observation and global change, which ignores the fact that satellite telecommunications, navigation and positioning and information from satellite systems constitute a basic precondition for the development of European security and thus fall within the framework of CFSP. However, the same document acknowledges that space activities in Europe have so far been largely focused on the first two objectives and points out that the technical capabilities exist to meet all three. 4. The limited attention paid to CFSP is due in all probability to the fact that: - CFSP is still under development, - the ESA which - owing to the task assigned to it - attaches greater importance to relations with research and industry, played a key role in drawing up this document. 5. The draftsman takes the view that the most competent authority for satellite matters which raise security issues is the satellite centre of the WEU which from the beginning of 2002 will be a European Union agency. Owing to the present transitional period which runs until the end of 2001, this body has not been properly used to address issues falling within its sphere of competence. This applies both to the above document and to the joint Task Force. 6. The draftsman believes the forthcoming report on European Space Policy should become the principal document on which the EU will base its planning of space activities. In its deliberations on setting out a clear European Space Policy, the EU should take account of the existing multiannual programmes of the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Committee on Disarmament, as well as of the relevant experience of the WEU. The Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy appointed Ioannis Souladakis draftsman at its meeting of 20 March 2001. It considered the draft opinion at its meetings of 5 November and 21 November 2001. At the latter meeting it adopted the conclusions unanimously, with 2 abstentions. Then the Commission, adopting EP recommendation, added a new chapter to the original document recognisin the CFSP aspects in it, entitled: 4.3.4. Common European Security and Defence Policy aspects.
Europe in Space: The European Parliament's Justification Arsenal
I hypothesise that the EP chose to adopt and highlight a particular set of values, priorities and arguments in its resolutions, because it thought that this particular set would resonate best among its different audiences. Even though the research design does not allow for formal hypothesis testing, the data pattern I discover leaves little doubt that the EP did not choose its justifying argumentation randomly but strategically.
The European Union Space Policy: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics
This article, published originally in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, introduces the space policy of the European Union. It provides an overview of what the EU space policy is and how it developed. In addition, it offers a critical review of the available scientific literature and identifies the key challenges surrounding the study of this new EU policy area.
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Throughout the years, the identity and institutional capacity of the European Union (EU) has changed. As a global actor in international politics, the EU has perceived the need for developing a comprehensive space policy perspective. This perspective has evolved by the changing dynamics of the space ecosystem i.e., "New Space", and it is a phenomenon that consists of new business models, new technologies, new markets, new value chains, and new actors. New actors in space activities have drastically altered the dynamics of space activities. This paper aims to examine the new actors in the context of European space governance, and scrutinise the tendencies of space companies so as to develop a better understanding of the European space system. The article concludes that, being aware of the undeniable importance of space applications and the security of space systems, the EU attaches importance to catching the "New Space" trend in its governance structure and encouraging appropriate changes in the sector.