23/07/2024
In CSI articles
Faced with emerging space powers, Europe needs to rethink its policy with a view to increasing its strategic autonomy.
Written by : Nicolas GUILBERT
The article in a nutshell:
At a time when the European 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 capable of competing with the world’s major space powers.
The growing importance of space to global sovereignty and competitiveness is undeniable. In 2024, the global space industry is valued at 480 billion dollars, with forecasts reaching 1,000 billion by 2040. Alongside 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 sales of €70.2 billion in 2023 in the aerospace sector, France ranks among the world leaders. It benefits from a solid industrial base, with emblematic 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. Also, while France remains behind Germany in terms of its contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) budget over the next three years, its contribution to the annual budget has increased by 20% compared to Seville in 2019, demonstrating an increased commitment to European space projects. In France, aerospace has become a key sector in the defence industrial policy, of which the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) is both the guarantor and a key player.
France designs, manufactures and operates satellites for a variety of purposes. Note No. 12/23 from the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique highlights the exponential increase in the number of satellites, with 2,482 to be launched by 2022, and 7,100 in orbit by March 2023. What’s more, France benefits from a geographical context that is favourable to space launches, since it has a European space port at Kourou, in French Guiana, giving it a “gateway to the stars” and making it a key player within the European Union to guarantee launch autonomy. This is a unique situation, as France is the only European Union member country to have the geography required for a space launch. As a result, France has established itself as a major space power, particularly within the European Union, where it shines through its Hard and Soft Power in space to promote technological and industrial sovereignty.
However, in the face of today’s challenges, this “sovereign” leadership seems gradually to be drowning in inevitable European collaboration in the face of ambitious space objectives on a scale that would be difficult to achieve individually.
Italy is now a key ally.
As the world’s seventh-largest aerospace power and Europe’s fourth-largest, Italy enjoys a privileged position among the world’s leading aerospace exporters. In this context, the Piedmont aerospace basin plays an important role, with sales of €3.9 billion and around 14,800 employees. Overall, Italy’s aerospace sector is made up of several hundred small and medium-sized businesses and industries, employing more than 50,000 of the 200,000 people in the entire supply chain and generating sales of €13.5 billion. Italy is the third largest contributor to ESA, behind Germany and France, with a financial commitment of €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. This is an area recognised as one of the most important in the country, where the development and application of new technologies are in full swing and playing a decisive role, with 12% of turnover dedicated to investment in research and development. Alongside the sector’s leading national and international companies, such as Leonardo, Avio Aero, Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio, ALTEC and many others, around 280 small and medium-sized companies have technologies and production processes that are 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 are not only securing their communications and their ability to monitor and respond to crisis situations, but are also strengthening their influence and autonomy on the international stage. This security dimension of space highlights the dual nature of space infrastructures: while they are essential, they also represent 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.
In the light of this common observation, cooperation between France and Italy is more than enviable, it is essential to build European 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) which, founded in 1975, enabled the two countries to work together on major space programmes, such as the Ariane launchers and the first major Earth observation missions. Before that, in 1962, Italy launched its first satellite, San Marco, with the help of NASA, marking the start 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 largest funds are Thales, Leonardo and Airbus. So there is a primary Franco-Italian core at the heart of the European defence project. It would seem necessary for European countries to pool their resources and will around the Franco-Italian core in order to protect themselves from competition from outside Europe and to establish a fully sovereign European defence. The space sector must be a driving force. Ultimately, however, all this depends on a political decision: without orders, there will be no production. The 22 ministers from the Member States of the European Space Agency have therefore reached an agreement to guarantee the future of the Ariane 6 and Vega launchers at the Seville Space Summit in November 2023. “The EU is gambling its space future in Seville”, even went so far as to headline Radio France International. The aim is to stay in the race with the United States, China and Russia by capturing a third of the €1,000 billion global space market by 2040.
However, while the European space industry continues to look bleak in the face of the dynamism of groups such as SpaceX, hopes seem to be turning towards the Franco-Italian core. In February 2024, the Dialogues France – Italie de la Défense, an event organised by the Institut pour les Relations Economiques France – Italie (IREFI) and the Centre d’Étude et de Prospective Stratégique (CEPS), confirmed the impetus for collaboration in shaping the conquest of aerospace by bringing together a number of military, political and civilian figures from the sector. The will is there. So we need to 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 must play a leading role in this new Franco-Italian dynamic to guide Europe towards a leading position in the global space economy.
Italy currently stands out for flagship projects such as the IRIDE programme, a satellite surveillance system for Earth observation, with an investment of €1.1 billion funded by the European Union and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). While it has historically been 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 playing a more central role in the space industry in the years ahead. Overall, Italian companies hold important market positions, both independently and as part of major international cooperations, and control critical technologies that are also functional to national security needs. Italy’s success will depend on two things: its ability to innovate, which implies greater support for innovative start-ups as well as for 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 placing up to 2,300 kg in low-Earth 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 Franco-Italian collaboration. Selected by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Franco-Italian joint venture Thales Alenia Space and the Italian company 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, Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana, the launcher itself having been developed under Italian prime contractorship.
France and Italy therefore have advanced technological capabilities which, when combined, create significant synergies in the space sector. Joint 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. They also include 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 are also working together on research and development projects funded by European programmes such as Horizon Europe Cluster 4 – Space (destination 5), the EU’s civilian space research and innovation programme, which aims to support the development of the operational components of the EU Space Programme and boost the competitiveness of the European space sector as a whole. These collaborations enable us to push the boundaries of space technology and remain competitive in the face of rapid advances by other space-faring nations such as the United States and China. The long-term goal is to build a resilient, innovative European Space Economy capable of competing with the world’s major space powers.
Franco-Italian cooperation in the space sector is thus a cornerstone for the future of European sovereignty. The two nations are in a position to combine sufficient financial, technological and human resources to propel 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 the exploration and exploitation of space.
About the author :
Nicolas Guilbert
“Chairman of the Cercle de Stratégies et d’Influences
Nicolas Guilbert is a Master’s student in General Public Law at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and is preparing for the competitive entrance exams for senior civil servants. Between Paris and Rome, he promotes the reconfiguration of European policies around increased bilateral Franco-Italian collaboration, in conjunction with the Institut pour les Relations Economiques France-Italie (IREFI).
IREFI – Institute for French-Italian Economic Relations
The Institut pour les Relations Economiques France-Italie (IREFI) is a bilateral Franco-Italian association. Its mission is to facilitate business relations between France and Italy and to unite its members around thematic meetings and symposia, acting in the intercultural field. The organisation is aimed at French and Italian entrepreneurs, managers and representatives of public and private institutions.