On the 13th of September 2023, in the framework of the State of the Union, President von der Leyen presented Commission priorities for 2024.
The Letter of Intent includes an initiative for an EU Space Law (EUSL). The legislative proposal could be adopted by the Commission in the first trimester of 2024. It envisages common EU rules addressing the safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities and operations. It intends to avoid and remove fragmentation and barriers across the single market caused by the heterogeneity or lack of national space legislations, while ensuring the competitiveness of the European space sector in an international trade context.
- The EUSL will cover three pillars attached to the following objectives:
- ensure a safe satellite traffic that tackles the increasing risk of collisions and damages by space debris: EUSL safety pillar.
- coherently protect the EU and national space infrastructures and assets against harmful threats (notably cyberattacks): EUSL resilience pillar
- guarantee the long-term sustainability of space operations, ensuring the ability of the EU to rely on space as an important enabler of services and economic growth : EUSL sustainability pillar.