Le 23/07/2024
Faced with emerging space powers, Europe must rethink its policy in order to increase its strategic autonomy.
Edited by: Nicolas GUILBERT
The article in brief:
At a time when Europe’s space industry continues to look bleak, IREFI – Institut pour les Relations Economiques France-Italie and CSI – Cercle de Stratégies et d’Influences invite you to turn your hopes towards building a new European framework for the space economy around a Franco-Italian core that is resilient, innovative and able to compete with the world’s leading space powers.
The growing importance of space for sovereignty and global competitiveness is undeniable. In 2024, the global space industry is valued at $480 billion, with forecasts of an increase to $1 trillion by 2040. Besides Germany, France and Italy stand out as the two main European space powers, the only ones capable of creating a new competitive space core.
With a turnover of EUR 70.2 billion in 2023 in the aerospace sector, France ranks among the world leaders. It benefits from a solid industrial base, with leading companies such as Airbus, Thales and Safran, and cutting-edge research institutions such as CNES, the French space agency, and ONERA, the French aerospace research centre. Moreover, although France lags behind Germany in terms of contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) budget for the next three years, its contribution to the annual budget has increased by 20 per cent compared to Seville in 2019, demonstrating a greater commitment to European space projects. In France, aerospace has become a key sector in the defence industrial policy, with the French Defence Procurement Agency (Direction Générale de l’Armement – DGA) acting as a guarantor and representing one of the main players. France designs, produces and operates satellites for various purposes. In this respect, note No. 12/23 of the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique[1] highlights the exponential increase in the number of satellites, with 2,482 satellites launched in 2022 and 7,100 listed in orbit in March 2023. In addition, France has a favourable geographical environment for space launches, with a European space port in Kourou, French Guiana, offering it a ‘gateway to the stars’ and making it a key player within the European Union, guaranteeing it a secure future.
This makes Italy a key ally.
Seventh aerospace power in the world and fourth in Europe, Italy enjoys a privileged position among the world’s leading aerospace exporters. In this context, the Piedmontese aerospace basin plays an important role, with a turnover of EUR 3.9 billion and around 14,800 employees. Altogether, the Italian aerospace sector is made up of several hundred small and medium-sized enterprises and industries, employing more than 50,000 of the 200,000 people in the entire sector and generating a turnover of 13.5 billion euro. Italy is the third largest contributor to ESA, after Germany and France, with a financial commitment of EUR 3.1 billion for the period 2023-2027. It is also one of the few countries to have had two commanders of the International Space Station (ISS), underlining its influence and expertise in this field. It is recognised as one of the country’s most important eectors, where the development and application of new technologies are in full swing and play a decisive role, with 12% of turnover dedicated to investment in research and development. Alongside leading national and international companies in the sector, such as Leonardo, Avio Aero, Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio, ALTEC and many others, some 280 small and medium-sized enterprises have technologies and production processes compatible with the technical standards required by the aerospace industry (quality, precision, ability to handle special materials, etc.).
For France and Italy, mastery of space thus represents not only a key technological and industrial capability, but also a strategic lever for their sovereignty, security and influence on the international stage. Encompassing and transcending other aspects of national sovereignty, space sovereignty could thus be described as the ‘sovereignty of sovereignties’. By controlling access to space, the two countries not only secure their communications and their ability to monitor and respond to crisis situations, but also strengthen their influence and autonomy on the international stage. This space security dimension highlights the dual nature of space infrastructure: while essential, it also represents potential vulnerabilities. It therefore seems inevitable to secure space in order to protect national territory: the principle of the primacy of the sky thus takes on its full meaning. Based on this common observation, the cooperation between France and Italy is more than enviable, it is essential to build Europe’s strategic autonomy and give Europe the means to establish itself as a truly competitive aerospace ‘power’.
Franco-Italian cooperation: a historically close relationship
Space cooperation between France and Italy dates back to the 1960s, marked by joint projects and close collaboration within the European Space Agency (ESA), founded in 1975, which allowed the two countries to work together on major space programmes, such as the Ariane launchers and the first major Earth observation missions. Previously, in 1962, Italy launched its first satellite, San Marco, with the help of NASA, marking the beginning of its active participation in international space projects. In November 2021, the signing of the Quirinal Treaty between France and Italy marked a new stage in bilateral relations. This treaty aims to develop a Franco-Italian core within the European framework of military-industrial cooperation and the European Defence Fund. The three major entities are Thales, Leonardo and Airbus. There is therefore a Franco-Italian core at the heart of the European defence project. It seems necessary for the European countries, around the Franco-Italian core, to pool resources and willpower to protect themselves against non-European competition and to realise a fully sovereign European defence.
The space sector must be a driving force. However, this ultimately depends on a political decision: without orders, there will be no production. The 22 ministers of the European Space Agency member states therefore reached an agreement to secure the future of the Ariane 6 and Vega launchers at the Seville Space Summit in November 2023. ‘EU stakes its space future in Seville,’ even headlined Radio France International. The goal is to stay in the running with the US, China and Russia, capturing a third of the €1 trillion global space market by 2040. However, while the European space industry continues to appear weak in the face of the dynamism of groups like SpaceX, hopes seem to be turning towards the Franco-Italian core. In February 2024, the Italy-France Dialogues: Defence and the Quirinal Treaty, an event organised by the France-Italy Institute for Economic Relations (IREFI) and the Centre d’Étude et de Prospective Stratégique (CEPS), confirmed the impetus for collaboration in aerospace, bringing together numerous military, political and civil personalities from the sector. The will is there. We must therefore go further. Companies such as Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (France) and Leonardo (Italy), illustrate the industrial synergy between the two countries and should play a leading role in this new Franco-Italian dynamic, with the aim of driving Europe towards a leading position in the global space economy.
Italy currently stands out for flagship projects such as the IRIDE programme, an EU-funded EUR 1.1 billion Earth observation satellite surveillance system, and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNR). Although historically overshadowed by Franco-German dominance within ESA, Italy has recently hosted major global events such as ICAS (aviation) and IAC (space), demonstrating its commitment to play a more central role in the space industry in the coming years. Overall, Italian companies hold important market positions, both on their own and as part of important international cooperation, and control critical technologies that are also functional to national security needs. Italy’s success will depend on two factors: the ability to innovate, which implies greater support for innovative start-ups and the academic and scientific system, and the presence of national policies to support the sector. The Vega-C launcher, developed by Avio, is an example of Italian innovation in the space sector, capable of carrying up to 2,300 kg into low orbit and demonstrating greater operational flexibility.
While the United States and China are the only two countries to have an operational unmanned spaceplane, Europe should be flying its own by the end of 2024, thanks mainly to the Franco-Italian collaboration. Selected by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Franco-Italian joint venture Thales Alenia Space and the Italian European Launch Vehicle are engaged in the development of Space Rider, a small space shuttle that should make its first flight in the third quarter of 2025. This first launch will be carried out by the Vega-C launcher from Kourou, the European spaceport in French Guiana; the launcher itself was developed under Italian leadership.
France and Italy thus have advanced technological capabilities that, when combined, create significant synergies in the space sector. Common infrastructures and platforms reinforce this cooperation. Operational collaboration between France and Italy is already evident in the sharing of launch and in-orbit mission management capabilities. But collaboration between France and Italy is not limited to large-scale projects. It also includes more modest but equally important initiatives, such as the development of nano-satellite and cubesat technologies. These small satellites, often used for specific short-term missions, benefit from joint innovations in miniaturised propulsion systems and advanced sensors. The two countries also work together on research and development projects funded by European programmes such as Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. These collaborations help push the boundaries of space technology and remain competitive in the face of the rapid advances of other space-faring nations such as the US and China. The long-term goal is to build a resilient and innovative European space economy that can compete with the world’s leading space powers.
Franco-Italian cooperation in the space sector is therefore a milestone for the future of European sovereignty. The two nations are able to combine sufficient financial, technological and human resources to bring Europe into a leading position in the global space industry. A collaboration that not only consolidates their strategic autonomy, but also paves the way for a united and sovereign Europe in space exploration and exploitation.
Author information:
Nicolas Guilbert
“President of the Cercle de Stratégies et d’Influences”.
Nicolas Guilbert is a Master’s student in General Public Law at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and is preparing for the entrance exams for the competition for senior civil servants. Between Paris and Rome, he promotes the reconfiguration of European policies around greater Franco-Italian bilateral cooperation, in collaboration with the Institut pour les Relations Economiques France-Italie (IREFI).
IREFI – Institute for France-Italy Economic Relations
IREFI is an independent ‘bilateral’ institute whose main mission is to facilitate business relations between Italy and France. Founded by Fabrizio Maria Romano, President, and Olivier Mellerio, Honorary President, IREFI has the capacity to bring together entrepreneurs (Large Groups, SMEs and start-ups), their associations, managers and representatives of public and private institutions from both countries. IREFI members share common motivations such as business ethics and professional expertise.