European Space Agency (ESA), consisting of 23 member countries, unanimously approved a space budget of approximately 22.1 billion euros (about 25.5 billion dollars) for the next three years (2026-2028) at a ministerial meeting held in Bremen, Germany on Thursday, November 27th.
This is the largest funding in the history of the organization, representing an increase of about 30% compared to the previous period (2023-2025) of 16.9 billion euros.
Following the meeting, ESA Director Josef Aschbacher stated that this is the first time in the half-century history of ESA that member countries have “completely satisfied” the financial demands put forth by the institution.
He emphasized that space is not only a rapidly growing economic sector but also holds strategic value concerning security and defense, stating that “Europe must catch up.”
In this budget cycle, Germany, France, and Italy continue to play a major role as financial pillars. Germany pledged to invest 5.4 billion euros, marking the highest contribution to ESA in its history. France and Italy provided 3.6 billion and 3.5 billion euros respectively, totaling more than half of the overall budget.
During the meeting, European ministers agreed to allocate 4.4 billion euros to the field of space transportation, a 20% increase from the previous three-year period. This funding aims to strengthen Europe’s autonomous launch capabilities for commercial and governmental missions, reducing the reliance on external suppliers.
The Earth observation program received 3.5 billion euros, with a growth rate of 16%. With the increasing demands for climate change, environmental monitoring, and disaster management, satellite missions have become a priority in national policies. ESA also plans to support European commercial aerospace companies systematically through this increase in funds, creating market forces that can compete with American companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Aschbacher stressed that this budget is not just a three-year work plan but symbolizes Europe’s intention to rebuild its influence in the global space sector, stating that “space is an extremely competitive field, and those who fall behind will lose their eligibility to participate.”
Europe’s significant increase in space investment is partly due to the profound changes in security situation following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. European countries are reevaluating their reliance on US security protection and see enhancing autonomous space capabilities as a top priority.
In addition, in recent years, both the US and Beijing have made continuous investments in human spaceflight, deep space exploration, commercial rockets, and have rapidly advanced technology. At the same time, private American companies have reshaped the market by substantially reducing launch costs, increasing competition pressure on the European aerospace industry.
In the past few years, Europe has faced setbacks in launch capability, including delays in the Ariane 6 rocket and accidents with the Vega-C rocket, leading to a decline in its share of the global commercial launch market, highlighting the urgency for reform and accelerated investment.
The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975, is the main intergovernmental cooperation organization in the field of aerospace among European countries, headquartered in Paris. Its missions include a wide range of space research, Earth observation, satellite navigation, deep space exploration, and launcher development.
Currently, there are 22 member countries, with Slovenia participating in various projects as a prospective member.
Its budget is divided into two categories: “mandatory” and “optional.” The former is shared based on the economic size of member countries, focusing on scientific and basic technology research, while the latter is negotiated by ministerial meetings every three years for large-scale projects such as rockets and satellites. These decisions not only shape the European space industry landscape but also directly impact market opportunities and global competitiveness of new rocket enterprises.
(This article is based on reporting by Reuters)