The European Space Agency (ESA) has proposed a budget of €22.254 billion for the next three years, up from €16.9 billion in the previous funding period.
A significant portion of the increase is due to the introduction of the agency’s new European Resilience from Space (ERS) programme, which has a proposed budget of €1.35 billion. The programme is designed to pool national space assets and develop new capabilities in intelligence, surveillance, secure communications, and navigation, with the aim of strengthening Europe’s resilience and autonomy in the face of emerging security threats.
The full extent of contributions to the ERS programme may, however, not be clear following the conclusion of the Ministerial on Thursday. Speaking to the media on 25 November, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher explained that the subscription process for the programme would remain open for an additional year.
“In many countries, we have been discussing with Ministers of Defence, and for them, this is a new approach,” explained DG Aschbacher. “They do not know ESA very well, and we have to explain, and they have to familiarise themselves. And in many countries, it’s probably late in the process to now switch budgets from classic defence spending into ESA. So, there is more work to be done. We will continue to work with countries who show interest.”
The largest percentage increases were in the Commercialisation (now called ACCESS) and Technology programmes, which saw increases of roughly 137 percent and 84 percent, respectively. ACCESS supports Europe’s space sector by accelerating commercialisation and competitiveness, and the Technology programme develops next-generation space technologies for future applications.
The most significant euro value increases were for the Human and Robotic Exploration and Space Transportation programmes, which both rose by a little over €1 billion. The Scientific Programme has a proposed increase of €619 million, bringing its total to €3.787 billion over the three years.
While the proposed budget sets out ESA’s strategic priorities, the final subscribed amounts will depend on what Member States formally commit to as discussions at the Ministerial Council continue, with most subscriptions to be cemented by the meeting’s close tomorrow.
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