Outer space is becoming increasingly influential in
economic terms, giving rise to the so-called New Space Economy. In this context, the
dependence of the European Union (EU) on the technical expertise of the European
Space Agency (ESA) makes a productive collaboration between these two International
Organisations indispensable, yet the lack of adequate governance of space issues at the
European level risks hampering this objective. However, the hope is that the approval
of the EU Space Programme 2021-2027 will lead to a significant step change,
contributing to the development of a new European space policy through an ever closer
relationship between the EU and ESA.
