Space activities and the geostrategic use of space are rapidly gaining in importance worldwide. Both the public and the private sectors are showing greater interest in space technologies, with many companies seeing investment in this area as a prime opportunity for growth. To close regulatory gaps in space law and address the fragmented legal landscape at the national level, the European Commission has presented a proposal for an EU Space Act. The proposed regulation aims to harmonise the authorisation, registration and supervision of space activities. It primarily affects providers of space services based within the European Union, but also applies to third-country operators and international organisations providing space services or space-based data in the EU. The proposed EU Space Act also sets out rules for the provision of collision avoidance services for orbital traffic and introduces a Union space label.
Background and objectives
I. Background
The proposal aims to address the fragmented regulation of space activities in the EU. The use of outer space is essentially regulated by international law, notably the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which has been ratified by 116 countries to date. The Treaty defines the international responsibility of the contracting states for national activities in outer space, whether by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities. It obliges the contracting states to make private actors’ space activities subject to authorisation and continuing supervision. Unlike many other countries that have a significant space industry, Germany has not transposed this obligation into national law. It currently only has a framework paper for a Space Act, presented by the previous Federal Government in September 2024.
Even at EU level, there are only a few legal instruments relating to space, such as the NIS 2 Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2555), whose cybersecurity regulations have been extended to cover space.
The European Commission’s proposal for an EU Space Act seeks to tackle the prevailing regulatory shortcomings and counteract further fragmentation of space legislation within the EU. The aim is to remove barriers to innovation and curb the loss of market share by European stakeholders.
The European Commission also unveiled its Vision for the European Space Economy on 25 June 2025, a comprehensive strategy to reinforce Europe’s autonomy and technological edge in space that builds on the European Union Space Strategy for Security and Defence of 10 March 2023. Amid concerns over Russian military exercises targeting critical space infrastructure, the European Commission used this 2023 document to officially announce its intent to propose an EU Space Law to increase space security.
Most recently, on 6 March 2025, the Commission warned in its “White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030” that Europe’s freedom of action in space is increasingly threatened and that its strategic competitors are already investing heavily in space warfare. The Commission has now also made it clear that, given the current geopolitical landscape and available military capabilities, defence readiness is impossible without space readiness. The proposed EU Space Act is to be a key instrument for achieving this space readiness.
II. Objectives: safety, resilience and sustainability
The EU Space Act is based on three pillars: safety, resilience and sustainability. First, the proposal aims to improve physical safety, for example by minimising the generation of new space debris or sharing satellite position data to avoid collisions. With cyberattacks on the rise, the European Commission also wants to strengthen cybersecurity as part of its resilience objective. Resilience is the ability to be prepared for, defend against, manage and recover from an attack or any other event compromising data, services or physical security as well as to prevent outages and incidents and ensure the continuous and uninterrupted availability of satellite data for key sectors. Finally, sustainability also plays a significant role in the context of space law. EU Space Act will help reduce the environmental footprint of European space activities in line with the European Green Deal and the EU’s sustainability objectives.
The proposed Act’s overall aim is to create a harmonised legal framework for the EU space market, integrating national approaches to avoid overlaps and conflicts.
Key provisions
I. General provisions, Articles 1-5 EU Space Act
The EU Space Act will apply not only to providers of space services established in the EU but also to operators from third countries and international organisations if they provide space services or space-based data in the EU. Article 5 EU Space Act contains comprehensive definitions of key concepts in space law, such as “space object”, “space activities” and “space services provider”. The general provisions also establish the principle of free movement for space-based data and space services within the EU and contain a clause preserving the competence of the Member States regarding national security.
II. Authorisation and registration for space activities, Articles 6-27 EU Space Act
Title II (Articles 6-27) of the proposal contains rules concerning authorisations for space activities. Under Article 6(1) EU Space Act, space operators must obtain in a Member State an authorisation to carry out their services. A special authorisation procedure pursuant to Articles 11-13 EU Space Act applies when space operators work on behalf of the EU.
Special rules apply to operators from third countries and international organisations that provide space services in the EU (Articles 14-23 EU Space Act). They must be registered in the Union Register of Space Objects and be in possession of an e-certificate.
III. Governance aspects, Articles 28-57 EU Space Act
Article 28(1) EU Space Act specifies that each Member State is to designate or establish a competent authority responsible for the authorisation and supervision of Union space operators and for market surveillance activities. Member States are also to lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive rules on penalties for infringements of the EU Space Act (Article 31(1) EU Space Act).
Articles 40-57 EU Space Act lay down the rules for governance at Union level. The EU Agency for the Space Programme (“Agency” or “EUSPA”) is, among other things, responsible for carrying out technical assessments, registering third country space operators and issuing e-certificates. The European Commission is, in particular, responsible for supervising those space operators that carry out services on behalf of the EU.
IV. Technical rules, Articles 58-104 EU Space Act
The proposal also contains a wide range of technical requirements for launchers and spacecraft, not least with regard to safety and sustainability in space. For example, spacecraft must be equipped for on-orbit servicing.
The European Commission is also to stipulate conditions for waste and debris removal, and will have the power to request that technical standards be drafted or to establish common specifications through implementing acts.
The proposal also lays down general risk management principles for space infrastructure and the requirement to carry out risk assessments, building on existing legislation on cybersecurity and physical resilience of critical entities. Rules on sustainability are also included – space operators must calculate the environmental footprint throughout the space mission lifecycle and submit a verified declaration including supporting data with their authorisation application. They are also required to obtain all relevant data from their suppliers, send these to the Commission and keep them up to date.
V. Equivalence decisions, international agreements and regimes for international organisations, Articles 105-108 EU Space Act
Articles 105-108 EU Space Act are to enable the Commission to simplify authorisation for space operators based outside the EU by recognising authorisation requirements or agreements with third countries.
VI. Supporting measures, Articles 109-112 EU Space Act
The proposal provides for supporting measures to help offset part of the costs of implementing the EU Space Act, especially for start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs, and to facilitate the implementation of the Act. These supporting measures include capacity-building measures, technical assistance and a digital information portal.
A regulatory framework for the Union space label is also to be introduced. This is to be awarded to space operators that voluntarily intend to meet higher requirements on safety, resilience and environmental sustainability, in addition to those laid down in the Regulation.
Conclusion and outlook
The proposal for an EU Space Act marks an important foray by the European Commission into a currently little-regulated but ever more important arena. Both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders are increasingly focusing on space, space activities and the use of space technologies. A comprehensive regulatory framework at EU level can make a significant contribution to utilising the opportunities offered by the ongoing economic development of space and countering the associated political and social risks. This will strengthen the competitiveness of the EU and its Member States in the use of space without losing sight of the three key objectives: safety, sustainability and resilience.
Many EU Member States, including Germany and France, therefore support a harmonised European framework for space law. The next step towards the adoption of the EU Space Act will be trilogue negotiations involving the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament.
It remains to be seen whether the EU will also place a stronger focus on space as part of its particularly diverse European defence activities. Given the increasing importance of autonomous satellite communications, both military and civilian, the Digital Networks Act (DNA) proposal expected later this year will likely mark the next stage in the European Commission’s efforts to regulate space activities.
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