Europe Holds Space Defense Forum to Promote "Collective Action"

According to a report by Reference News on September 12, Agence France-Presse reported on September 9 that defense officials from more than 30 European countries held a meeting on September 8 and 9 during the Paris International Space Summit to discuss how to safeguard Europe’s security interests in space. Space has become a stage for competitive confrontation.

The European Space Defense Forum was opened by French Defense Minister Florence Parly. The French Ministry of Defense stated in a press release that the forum brought together heads of space departments and policy directors from the defense ministries of EU countries, Ukraine, the UK, Norway, and Switzerland, who “engaged in discussions on core issues of space defense, with a strong willingness to work together.”

The press release stated that the purpose of the forum is to “identify common concerns among European countries and accelerate Europe’s capacity building and responsibilities in the space domain.”

Relevant personnel from the French Ministry of Defense indicated that Europe previously lacked a dedicated dialogue mechanism to discuss the evolution of threat situations, the development of capability building, and interoperability issues among countries' equipment.

The French Ministry of Defense stated: “European countries need to achieve equipment interoperability to form a real strike force and create capabilities with global credibility. Therefore, the purpose of this forum is to bring all space commanders and defense policy leaders together for relevant discussions.”

Later on the evening of the 9th, during a roundtable discussion following the forum, Guillaume Olanié, Director of International Relations and Strategy at the French Ministry of Defense, mentioned issues such as the overcrowding of orbits caused by the large number of low Earth orbit satellites, the lack of international rules governing space behavior, and the significant importance of satellites for military communications and reconnaissance capabilities, asserting that European countries should engage in “collective action” in the space domain.

He said: “This issue requires us to cooperate and deepen partnerships with multiple close allies, as no single party can address it alone.”

German Ministry of Defense official Martin Schäfer believes that “Europe is the answer.” He stated: “We have a consistent assessment of the threats, a shared vision of the actions to be taken, and we act in coordination under common objectives.” (Translated by Wang Zhongju)