UK, Norway and Ukraine welcome to join EU's IRIS² space programme, says commissioner
A number of third countries could yet follow Iceland and join the bloc's competitor to Elon Musk's Starlink
Non-EU countries such as Norway, Ukraine and the United Kingdom could yet join the EU’s secure communication satellite network IRIS² as an alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink, Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told Euractiv.
Aside from Norway, which is already in talks with the European Commission over joining the satellite network programme, neither Ukraine nor the United Kingdom have so far kicked off negotiations about signing up.
However, Ukraine has relied on Musk’s SpaceX to provide telecommunications services for its military operations during its war against invading Russian forces, and there has been general disquiet about the level of dominance the Starlink constellation has in the space-enabled telecom market.
That offers IRIS² – which is expected to cost €10.6 billion and be made up of around 280 satellites once it’s online in the 2030s – an opportunity to snag market share.
“I would not be opposed,” Kubilius said when asked if such non-EU countries could formally join the multi-billion euro space programme. The United Kingdom has a strong track record in space, while Ukraine holds significant potential having served as a key space hub during the Soviet era, Kubilius said.
Iceland – also a European Economic Area country like Norway – said it had concluded talks with the Commission earlier this month to participate in IRIS².
Kubilius was speaking just weeks after presenting a draft EU Space Act, which was tabled by the Commission on 25 June and sparked intense behind-the-scenes negotiations over the scope of the rules.
While the legislation will take years to finalise, the provisions could in future hamper the likes of Musk’s SpaceX from accessing EU consumers with its satellite services.
However, Kubilius said there hasn’t been any blowback to the draft so far. “For the time being, I received no hints that the Americans will react on the EU Space Act,” said Kubilius, who had just returned from a US trip from July 17 to 22.
(nl, jp)
