Brussels 24.01.2023 “The purpose of my intervention is to highlight the current geopolitical context of space, its relevance for the security and defence perspective” the EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said, while addressing the 15th European Space Conference “Securing the future of Europe in space”, taking place in Brussels, January 24-25, 2023.

“Remember that I am in charge of building the European defence capabilities. And explain the efforts that we have been doing at the European Union in this domain – the domain of space, naturally, in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The most important deliverable which is the Space Strategy for Security and Defence which we, at the [European] External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission, together with my friend and colleague [Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry] Breton have been working in the past few months.

“This Strategy was called by the Strategic Compass, has been consulted with Member States and its adoption as a Joint Communication will be taking place in March.

“…That space has become a key strategic domain. It is affecting not only all aspects of our life, but it is a key resource or a key battlefield for security and defence. That the geopolitical competition in which are, which we see on Earth is now increasingly projected up in space, and that we need to prepare for an increasingly – still more – competitive and contested space environment” the diplomat continued.

“I do not want to use the word “battlefield” but, yes, space will become a kind of battlefield: at least, a place where competition and confrontation will take place.

“There are many figures that show the growing importance of the space sector.

“Last year, governments around the world allocated around $100 billion to space. Well, we can compare that to the support that we have been providing to Ukraine during the war.

“The European Union has provided €50 billion on support to Ukraine. So, the investment, the governmental expenditure is $100 billion – twice our support to Ukraine during a one-year war.

“This is a 9% increase [in investment in space] compared to the previous year”, Josep Borrell concluded.