French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed their commitment to space during a two-day International Space Summit co-hosted by France and Germany in Paris. Macron called for the shared governance of space and urged Europeans to act on a massive scale to compete with the United States and China across various sectors, from communications to crewed spaceflight.
Macron emphasized that Europe must assert its ambition in crewed spaceflight, noting that the current European space program remains fragile and requires stepped-up efforts. He advocated for the development of independent crewed spaceflight capabilities and the setting of ambitious goals, such as European cargo missions and lunar landings, to reduce the bloc's reliance on the US and Russia.
While Europe possesses world-class scientific and industrial capabilities, challenges remain regarding its competitive standing. Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Assistant Professor of Space and International Relations and Deputy Director of the West Space Scholars Programme at Johns Hopkins University, explained that Europe lacks the investment, launch cadence, scale, and degree of political integration that the United States and China possess.