Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The candidate countries Albania and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

At the outset, I would like to congratulate you on your chairmanship and assure you of the EU’s full support and cooperation. I also thank the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs and its Director Aarti Holla-Maini for her leadership and excellent work and for the efficient preparation of this session.

Chair,

The EU and its Member States welcome the two new members of COPUOS: Latvia and Djibouti.

The EU and its Member States strongly support the rules-based international order, with the United Nations at its core, and a multilateral approach to international affairs. This system has a pivotal role in maintaining peace and security, which development, including the 2030 Agenda, is intrinsically linked to.

The EU and its Member States welcome the adoption of the Pact for the Future. World leaders recognised the need for urgent action to ensure the safe and sustainable use of space for the benefit of all humankind. They recognised the 1967 Outer Space Treaty as the cornerstone of the international legal regime governing outer space activities and decided to discuss the establishment of new frameworks for space traffic, space debris and space resources through COPUOS. They also encouraged COPUOS to further consult on the proposal to hold a fourth UN Conference on the Peaceful Exploration of Outer Space, UNISPACE IV, in Vienna in 2027.

To this end, dialogue has already started in the UN World Space Forum hosted by UNOOSA and co-organized by Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Peru in Bonn in December 2024.

All activities of States in exploration and use of outer space must be conducted in accordance with the Outer Space Treaty, and we encourage all States to ratify it and fully implement its provisions. We underline the importance of the universalisation of the Outer Space Treaty for the preservation of a secure, safe, stable and sustainable outer space environment. Together, States need to uphold this Treaty and other key instruments within the United Nations framework, to develop further transparency and confidence-building measures, and foster responsible behaviour in the peaceful and free exploration of outer space.

The safe and sustainable use of space also plays a critical role in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. The EU is therefore looking forward to the mid-term review of the “Space2030” Agenda in 2025.

We welcome that an item on Dark and quiet skies, astronomy and large constellations has been added on the agenda of the COPUOS Scientific and Technical Subcommittee. We encourage the development of practical solutions to address the unintended impacts of satellite constellations on astronomy.

We also appreciate the active involvement of the space community in the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), in Milan in October 2024. We congratulate Italy for this important meeting.

Chair,

The EU and its Member States will continue to participate and actively contribute to the work of COPUOS and its Subsidiary Bodies, including their Working Groups. We encourage Member States to strive for further progress in the discussions carried out in the Working Group on the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities (WG-LTS) on the implementation of the existing 21 LTS Guidelines, capacity building needs and new challenges.

The EU and its Member States underline the importance of effectively implementing the COPUOS Guidelines on the Long-Term Sustainability and Space Debris Mitigation in order to protect outer space from long-lived debris and ensure long-term orbital sustainability. We call on that all COPUOS Member States avoid, to the greatest extent possible, the creation of space debris in order to preserve the safe, secure, stable, and sustainable use of outer space in a peaceful manner for present and future generations.

The UN Pact for the Future calls for strengthened international cooperation for the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes and for the benefit of all humanity. The EU is currently considering what kind of regional efforts could be taken in order to contribute to international co-operation with the aim of finding concrete solutions at a global level. We also foresee the possibility of cooperation with international partners to allow better coordination between different regional approaches in a number of areas, such as Space Traffic Management.

Space Traffic Management remains one of the key issues as recognised by the Council of the EU in its multiple Conclusions. Drawing on reinforced Space Surveillance and Tracking capabilities, and in line with the Pact for the Future, the EU is open for cooperation with international partners in view of information sharing and interoperability. With the Pact calling to “contribute to intergovernmental processes related to the increased safety and sustainability of outer space”, we need to work all together in order to establish the necessary framework for sustainable Space Traffic.

Chair,

The new European Commission has recently started its work in Brussels and is considering the possibility to propose an EU Space Law that would address the safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities.

The European Space Programme continues to focus on space activities in the fields of Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation, Connectivity, Space Research and Innovation. While striving to strengthen European space assets and services, it drives innovative solutions based on space technologies, data and services. Targeted investments are being made to support entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs in the space industry with initiatives such as CASSINI, which also promotes international collaboration. For instance, the CASSINI Hackathons have brought together innovators from the EU and beyond, with events held in associated countries to Horizon Europe, such as Moldova, Ukraine, and Albania. Additionally, the CASSINI Business Accelerator has helped European space companies access international markets and expand their global reach, facilitating partnerships with non-European companies.

EU Space Programme components such as GALILEO, EGNOS, and COPERNICUS, benefit millions of users not only within the EU, but also in third countries, and IRIS² aims to provide secure telecommunications services. They provide reliable monitoring data and information on a full, free and open basis. Two regional Copernicus centres are being set up in Panama and in Chile and a national Copernicus data centre in the Philippines. COPERNICUS contributes to enhancing the resilience and reducing vulnerabilities to natural disasters and support climate adaptation, food security, and environmental protection. Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) has been used in many countries, also outside the EU.

Finally, Chair,

The EU remains gravely concerned about the current international context affecting multilateral work, including cooperation on outer space issues. Violations of the UN Charter undermine the whole UN system that underpins international peace and security. In this context, we continue to strongly condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the DPRK’s illegal actions in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, including its satellite launches using ballistic missile technology.

Thank you, Chair.