European Space Puzzle: Evaluation of the Space-Related Institutional Players in Europe

This paper examines the organizational architecture of the European space activities, to evaluate whether the current status quo can facilitate a ‘United Europe in Space’ and ‘United Space in Europe’, as coined by former European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jan Wörner. To achieve this goal, the paper compares the purposes and competencies of space-related institutional players in Europe, that is, the ESA, three bodies of the European Union (EU), namely the European Commission (EC), the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the Member States of ESA and the EU, and assesses whether their functions adequately address all relevant aspects or result in excessive overlap in their tasks. This paper concludes with the assignment of specific roles to institutional players, a discussion on persisting legal issues and whether there is a need for an overarching consulting mechanism to ensure collective efforts and ultimately help the European continent become a spacepower.