Answer given by Mr Breton on behalf of the European Commission
23.4.2024
The envisaged EU space law focuses on safety, resilience and environmental measures related to space activities, aimed at establishing an internal market for space.
The inclusion of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) reporting system extends beyond the EU’s technological capabilities and the legal basis of the legislation.
The area of UAP is considered a competence of the Member States, allowing them to address these phenomena according to the national security needs.
For example, France, which has established the Group for Study and Information on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena (GEIPAN)[1]. It is therefore not included within the scope of the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST)[2] partnership services nor in the Near-Earth objects (NEO) activities[3].
The structure of EU space research activities is different from that of space agencies like National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The EU supports research activities within the Horizon Europe Programme[4], based on calls for proposals on specific topics, including space related calls[5].
- [1] https://geipan.fr/
- [2] https://www.eusst.eu/
- [3] https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Safety_ESA_s_Planetary_Defence_Office
- [4] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en
- [5] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2023-2024/wp-7-digital-industry-and-space_horizon-2023-2024_en.pdf