The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg held on Thursday 8 October, as part of its Círculo de Negocios forum, a luncheon debate with Lorena Boix Alonso, Deputy Director-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) at the European Commission, on “The European Commission’s space priorities”. The event was held in English at the Hotel NH Collection Brussels Grand Sablon, sponsored by GMV.

The luncheon opened with the introduction of the speaker by the President of the Chamber, Pablo López Álvarez, who outlined her career at the European Commission, with particular reference to her years in competition and digital policy, and with a short intervention by Enrique Fraga, General Manager of Space Systems EST at GMV, the event’s sponsor, who underlined how critical space has become for Europe’s economy, security and sovereignty.

The session started from the transformation of the space sector: from a field centred on institutional missions with long development cycles to a fast-innovating sector with more private investment, new players and growing demand, driven also by the geopolitical context, which has highlighted the strategic role of space for security and defence. The discussion addressed the need to adapt industry and public procurement to this new reality, with “good enough” solutions where the use case allows, shorter cycles, larger-scale production and less fragmented demand, without giving up Europe’s technological excellence. It also highlighted the role of SMEs along the whole value chain, alongside the large prime contractors, and the opportunities of civil and military dual use.

Programmes, legislation and access to space

As for priorities, the session reviewed the main European space programmes, with the acceleration of the IRIS² secure connectivity constellation, the Galileo Public Regulated Service and a future European governmental Earth observation capability; the legislative agenda, with the EU Space Act and the regulation of the EU Agency for the Space Programme; and other initiatives such as the European space shield and autonomous access to space, in the context of the negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

The question and answer round covered risk culture and the ability to pivot away from failed projects, the aggregation of public demand, the balance between speed and innovation, the use of spectrum for governmental services, access to space from European territory, and coordination with NATO on commercial space infrastructure.

The Chamber thanks Lorena Boix Alonso for taking part in this Círculo de Negocios session and for the time she devoted to answering attendees’ questions, as well as GMV for its sponsorship.