ESA Council of Ministers to Vote on Projects Bolstering Europe’s Security.
A pivotal moment is approaching for the European Space Agency (ESA) as its Council of Ministers prepares to convene on November 26-27. Senior space officials from the 23 member states will vote on a suite of projects explicitly designed to enhance Europe’s defense capabilities.
If approved, the proposal from ESA Director Josef Aschbacher would mark a historic shift. Since its inception in 1975, ESA has steadfastly avoided any connection to military space activities, maintaining a strictly civilian mission.
„In a nutshell, there is a general wake-up call in Europe after the war in Ukraine for the need for more autonomy. Countries are investing more in defense (NATO, etc.) and as part of it in space,” a European space official told Breaking Defense. „[T]here is a shift towards security activities triggered by the new U.S. policies and their impact in Europe.”
€1.1 Billion Proposal for ISR Satellite Constellation
A key focus of the ESA ministerial meeting will be Aschbacher’s proposal to allocate €1 billion ($1.1 billion) to preliminary activities supporting a burgeoning European Union initiative to develop a constellation of electro-optical and radar intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites.
It’s important to note that ESA operates independently from the 27-member EU. Membership in the two organizations is not mutually exclusive. For instance, the United Kingdom remains an ESA member despite its withdrawal from the EU in 2020, and Canada is an associate member participating in selected projects.
European Resilience from Space (ERS) Program
Aschbacher’s proposed initiative, dubbed the European Resilience from Space (ERS) program, would represent an initial phase of activities supporting the Earth Observation Governmental Service (EOGS), according to an ESA press release from October 28, following the Space for European Resilience conference in Brussels.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, is seeking funding for the EOGS. The EU’s ruling council of ministers will vote on whether to include the effort as part of its three-year EU Multiannual Financial Framework during their meeting on December 18-19.
„European Space Shield” and Preserving Peace Roadmap
The project is widely anticipated to be approved, especially given the EU Council’s approval on October 23 of a new five-year plan for strengthening defense capabilities, called the Preserving Peace — Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030. This roadmap includes the development of a „European Space Shield” among its four pillars.
„In this moment of rapid change, there is a critical need to synchronise European initiatives by aligning space for defence competencies, avoiding duplication and pooling resources for scale,” Aschbacher told the Space for European Resilience conference, co-sponsored by the EU, ESA, and the European Space Policy Institute. „We still remain too fragmented to guarantee Europe with genuine, comprehensive and autonomous space resilience. We have an opportunity to change that, and we must.”
ESA’s Role in Dual-Use Space Projects
Aschbacher first unveiled the nascent ERS plan on May 14 at the Cysat 2025 conference in Paris. He emphasized that the effort is being developed „hand in hand” with European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius.
„This new initiative … is not just another initiative,” he said. „It is a response. It is also forward looking. It is a capability, a European vision of strategic resilience.”
ESA has been supporting other EU space projects that inherently have dual civil and military use cases, including IRIS2, a flagship project to create a Starlink-like satellite communications and internet network in low Earth orbit.
An ESA spokesperson told Breaking Defense that the agency has also awarded „over 350 contracts involving more than 300 economic operators (industry, research centres, academia),” under the Navigation Innovation and Support Program (NAVISP), which aims to further develop technologies for independent European positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities.
„The total value of the projects has been €330 million ($382 million), including €75 million ($87 million) funding from industry,” the spokesperson said.
ESA Not Seeking to Operate Military Satellites
In various speeches over the past six months, Anschbacher has promoted the ERS plan while providing limited specifics. He has emphasized that participation by individual ESA member states would be optional. He has also reiterated that ESA does not intend to operate future military satellites.
„I want to be clear that I am not at all suggesting a Europeanisation of space for defence across the board. ESA will never replace national efforts or sovereign capabilities. Key space capabilities for security should absolutely remain under national control,” he told the Brussels conference.
„However, ESA can play a vital role through a pooling and sharing model, where each contributor retains full control of their systems while benefiting from others’ excess capacity, and vice-versa,” he added.
The European space official clarified that the exact nature of ESA’s and member states’ involvement remains to be determined.
„[W]e will have a role certainly at technical level (design, development, etc.) but the system will belong to the EU,” the official stressed.
Ultimately, it is the EU, contingent on approving the new constellation, that will establish the requirements. ESA member countries may then decide whether or not to support those requirements.
Furthermore, the official added that nothing is certain until the ERS program is „approved and funded and the governance defined” at the ESA ministerial meeting.
