On 25 June 2025, the European Commission has proposed the draft of the EU Space Act.
This proposed new law is intended to provide a harmonised regulatory framework at European level from 2030 to ensure safety, resilience, and environmental responsibility across the EU, while helping space tech companies grow and scale across borders.
Safety, resilience and sustainability
The three main pillars of the EU Space Act are safety, resilience and sustainability:
- Safety: The proposed EU Space Act, if adopted, will introduce measures to improve the tracking of space objects including collision avoidance services and limit new debris, including requirements for safe satellite disposal at the end of their operational life.
- Resilience: The proposed EU Space Act, if adopted, will require all space operators to conduct thorough risk assessments throughout a satellite’s lifecycle, applying cybersecurity rules and incident reporting tailored to the space sector.
- Sustainability: The proposed EU Space Act, if adopted, will set common rules for life cycle assessment and a shared database to ensure consistent verified data and encourage innovation in areas such as in-space servicing to extend satellite life and reduce debris.
In a nutshell:
The proposed EU Space Act aims to:
- Establish a Union legal framework for the provision of space-based data and services by Union space operators to foster innovation and create a stable. predictable, and competitive business environment (level playing field).
- Ensure the trackability of space objects and reduce the generation of space debris, thereby enhancing the safety of space activities.
- Create a risk assessment framework tailored to the specific cybersecurity needs of space infrastructure, enhancing the resilience of space activities.
- Create a common method for calculating the environmental impact of space activities in the Union, enhancing sustainability.
Key take aways
The draft comprises 119 articles with many details, but there are a number of requirements that immediately stand out:
- Union space operators will need authorisation for providing space services. This will be a licence from one EU member state that will be accepted by all the other EU member states.
- The draft also includes requirements for third country (= not EU) space operators.
- The UK will be treated as a “third country” for the purposes of the Act.
- The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will be given significant new tasks and responsibilities, including conducting technical assessments for authorization and supervision of Union-owned assets and third-country operators, managing the Union Register of Space Objects (URSO), issuing e-certificates to attest compliance, and establishing the Union Space Resilience Network (EUSRN) for enhanced cooperation on cybersecurity incidents.
- The EU Commission and the Agency will have far-reaching powers, including “on-site inspections” and imposing fines of up to 2 % of the total worldwide annual turnover. The proposed EU Space Act complements existing laws like the NIS 2 Directive on cybersecurity and the CER Directive on physical resilience of critical entities, by filling gaps specific to space infrastructure and ensuring a tailored resilience baseline for the sector.
- The proposal suggests a common method for calculating the environmental footprint of space activities, including design, manufacturing, operations, and end-of-life stages, to promote greener technologies and align with EU Green Deal objective.
Further information
The European Commission has identified the space economy and the EU Space Act as a key priority and has published additional documentation with the draft:
Application and next steps
The EU Space Act is intended to apply to both EU and national space assets, as well as to non-EU operators offering services in Europe.
At the moment, it is still a draft proposal that is subject to negotiations in the European Parliament and in the Council, under the ordinary legislative procedure.
After being officially adopted, the EU Space Act will be a regulation applicable and binding in all EU member states. The draft provides for application from 1 January 2030 with a transitional period of 2 years.
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