The European Defence Fund and Space: Added Values and Priorities

Initially approached in a purely civilian way at the European level, space programmes and assets are increasingly seen as strategic enablers thanks to their dual-use nature. With the European Defence Fund (EDF) being formally adopted and implemented as of 2021, the question of funding the development of military space capabilities by the EDF is getting more and more attention.

Because of their collaborative nature, European space programmes can bring a true added value to European defence policy, if their dual-use nature is exploited to its fullest extent. Given the limited means of the EDF, a priority shall be then given to synergies between the EU space policy, the EDF and other relevant EU policies as it is advised by the Commission. Such a seeking for synergies will require to ensure coherence across the different policy domains beyond the sole blending of funding. This shall have consequences on the very structure and governance of space and defence programmes. The current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the European Defence Fund may offer interesting avenues for such synergies. In particular, the recent announcement of a European Security Connectivity project by the European Commission could be a perfect test case in this regard…