EU Statement at General Debate of the 65th session of the COPUOS Legal Subcommittee , 15 April 2026

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following countries align themselves with this statement: Albania and Ukraine.

Chair,

I would like to express our appreciation to Mr. Santiago Ripol Carulla of Spain, for his successful tenure as Chairperson of the Legal Subcommittee and congratulate Mr. Pablo Adrián Arrocha Olabuenaga of Mexico on his appointment for chairing the 65th session of the LSC. I would like to assure you of our full support and cooperation.

We also thank UNOOSA for its excellent work and its Director Aarti Holla-Maini for her able leadership. 

As responsible space actors, the EU and its Member States are committed to promoting the universalisation and implementation of international instruments on outer space, in particular the Outer Space Treaty (OST). It remains the cornerstone of the international legal regime governing outer space activities. 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. 

The Treaty’s central role is also reaffirmed by the Pact for the Future, as well as the need to establish new frameworks for space traffic, space debris and space resources through COPUOS. The Pact also underscores the critical role of a safe and sustainable use of space in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. In this context we look forward to an agreement on the objectives, venue, organisation and funding of the UNISPACE IV Conference. We also emphasise the need for UNOOSA to have the resources necessary to implement properly its mandate.

The COPUOS Working Group on the Status and Application of the Five UN Treaties on Outer Space is an important forum to review the status of the treaties, their implementation and obstacles to their universal acceptance, as well as to promote space law. We welcome that the Working Group makes progress under its work plan on the implementation of Article XI of the Outer Space Treaty which is key to enhance information sharing and transparency – and began the preparation of a draft template offered to States and international intergovernmental organizations as a voluntary tool to share information on the nature, conduct, locations and results of activities in outer space.

We welcome the progress made by the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities in drafting an initial set of recommended principles towards the development of a necessary legal framework. The Space Resources Week hosted by Luxembourg in May 2026, will address the scientific, technological, economic, legal and regulatory dimensions of space resources and can provide valuable multidisciplinary insights into the work of the Working Group.

We also take note of the work made by the Working Group on Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities (WG-LTS), and encourage the implementation of the 21 LTS Guidelines, and the promotion of capacity building activities for space sustainability and emerging challenges.

In this context, the representative of the EU and some Member States took part in the United Nations Conference on Outer Space Law held in Vienna in November 2025 which provided an opportunity to share insights on incorporating space debris mitigation and long-term sustainability guidelines into legal and regulatory frameworks.

Chair,

We keep working to find the best means to promote international co-operation in the field of space traffic and to advance Space Traffic Management (STM) at the European level as set out in the Joint Communication on Space Traffic Management. 

As part of EU Space Surveillance & Tracking (SST), non-European users have benefitted from the collision avoidance services, and since 2024 they also benefit from re-entry and fragmentation services. In this context, we welcome the work of the Expert Group on Space Situational Awareness at the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STSC) and welcome the collection of information on legal and policy aspects of space traffic in order to discuss and decide on a possible way forward for future work at the Legal Subcommittee.

Recognizing the key role of capacity building in space law and policy, we welcome UNOOSA's work in assisting new space actors and emerging space nations.

Chair,

We underline the utmost importance of international law, including the UN Charter in exploration and use of outer space, and express concern about all actions undermining their implementation. In this context, we strongly condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the DPRK’s illegal actions in violation of multiple Security Council Resolutions, including its satellite launches using ballistic missile technology. 

Thank you.