EU Statement – UN General Assembly 4th Committee: International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^* and Georgia, as well as San Marino align themselves with this statement.

Chair,

1. The EU and its Member States strongly support the rules-based international order, with the United Nations at its core, and the work of the United Nations and a multilateral approach to international affairs. Violations of the UN Charter undermine the entire UN system. In this context, the EU continues to condemn Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and expresses condemnation of the DPRK’s repeated launches using ballistic missile technology, including its attempted satellite launch that occurred on 27 May 2024. This constitutes a clear and flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions.
2. We welcome the outcome of the UN Summit for the Future held in New York on 22-23 September that has provided a key opportunity to strengthen the role of UNOOSA and COPUOS. The EU and its Member States welcome that outer space issues relevant to COPUOS work feature in the Pact for the Future adopted at the Summit. As we recognise the need for the international community to come together and discuss ways and means to reinforce space governance, as reflected in the Lisbon Declaration on Outer Space, we look forward to further discussions in COPUOS on space resources, space traffic and space debris and we welcome the envisaged fourth United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Exploration of Outer Space (UNISPACE IV) in 2027.
3. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty and other UN treaties on outer space, accompanied by the guiding principles developed in the UN framework, constitute the cornerstone of the global governance in outer space. The EU and its Member States promote responsible behaviours in outer space and recall the obligations under the Outer Space Treaty, in particular those comprised in Article IV that obligates States Parties not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner. We urge all States to refrain from any threatening activity, and in particular to abide by the Outer Space Treaty’s Article IV, and call upon all States which have not yet done so to join the existing UN treaties on outer space, and faithfully implement them.
4. The exploration and use of outer space is the province of all humankind and outer space as a global common must remain free for exploration and use by all States without any discrimination, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law. We continue to actively promote the preservation of a safe, secure and sustainable space environment and the peaceful use of outer space as well as access to outer space for future generations.
5. COPUOS and its Subcommittees remain unique platforms for international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as for the development of international space law, international norms, guidelines and best practices on space safety. Furthermore, having in mind that private entities become involved in outer space activities, the EU and its Member States stress the crucial role of COPUOS in enhancing transparency and building confidence among all international community, including spacefaring and non-spacefaring States. We must all ensure that COPUOS can continue to deliver.

Chair,

6. The EU and its Member States remain committed to promoting the implementation of the SDGs and Space 2030 Agenda. The European Union Space Programme, including its components, GALILEO and COPERNICUS, support the achievement of these goals by providing reliable monitoring data and information to international users on a full, free and open basis. These programmes help tackle challenges related to transport systems, renewable energy, food security, water management, climate change, environmental impact including health related ones. They also offer vital services for disaster management, civil security and rescue operations. In this context, the EU is providing significant support through its Global Gateway strategy. Two regional Copernicus centres are being established in Panama and in Chile, and a national Copernicus data centre in the Philippines.
7. The Pact for the Future further invites the engagement of relevant private sector, civil society and other stakeholders, where appropriate and applicable, to contribute to intergovernmental processes related to the increased safety and sustainability of outer space. We therefore welcome the annual “World Space Summit”, organized by UNOOSA, which corresponds to this recommendation in line with the “Space2030 Agenda”.
8. Space traffic management and the mitigation of space debris remain among the key issues for COPUOS. We value discussions in the Working Group on Long-Term Sustainability on the implementation of Guidelines, capacity-building, and new challenges. We encourage all space faring nations to step up the implementation of the 21 LTS Guidelines as well as the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines in order to ensure long-term orbital sustainability. 
9. The EU’s approach aims to contribute to space traffic management as a global endeavour, pairing existing regional capabilities and tools with an overall ambition for global cooperation and coordination with international partners, to share information and experience. On the operational side, since 2016, EU Space Surveillance & Tracking has been providing, inter alia, collision avoidance services to protect satellites, and is open to non-European users.

Chair,

10. The EU and its Member States also welcome the recent discussions within the COPUOS Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities and encourages further work to develop a set of recommendations. We thank Luxembourg and Belgium for having co-organised in March 2024, with UNOOSA, an expert meeting to collect input for the International Conference that took place in Vienna in April 2024.
11. Furthermore, the EU welcomes the Lisbon Declaration on Outer Space prepared by the Portuguese Space Agency in the context of the Management and Sustainability of Outer Space Activities Conference that was co-organised with UNOOSA on 14-15 May 2024, in support of the Space Track of the Summit of the Future. The EU further welcomes the World Space Forum taking place in Bonn from 3 to 5 December, hosted by Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Peru, providing an opportunity to discuss space solutions supporting the implementation of the Pact for the Future.

Chair,

12. Finally, we want to emphasise that the Space2030 Agenda and this annual UN General Assembly resolution on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space continue to provide the consensual basis for further work. All EU initiatives are developed in the spirit of international cooperation for the peaceful use of outer space. We remain committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the Space2030 Agenda and the use of space applications and technologies for the achievement of the SDGs.

Thank you for your attention.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.