Luxembourg's Deputy PM Advocates Adoption of EU Space Defence Strategy

On Friday 4 March 2022, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, François Bausch, travelled to Toulouse in France to take part in the AsterX space exercise in the presence of the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, as well as several other European Union (EU) defence ministers.

The space exercise simulated a wide range of incidents such as the unfriendly approach of satellites of interest, the jamming of communication satellites, the glare of observation satellites and hostile actions on space installations.

During the exchanges, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister addressed the European challenges related to space defence and recalled that space has become an increasingly contested, competitive and congested environment. "Given the proliferation of activities and actors in space, we are seeing an increase in the risk of conflict", he said, recalling that the growing dependence of our societies on space increases our vulnerabilities. In this context, Minister Bausch stressed that the defence of respect for international law and the peaceful use of space retains all its relevance and requires close cooperation between countries sharing the same values.

Against the backdrop of the current international situation, Luxembourg's Defence Minister emphasised the importance of the EU adopting a space defence strategy, enabling it to protect itself and strengthen its response capabilities. He went on to present Luxembourg's first spatial defence Strategy, which was recently published and whose objective is to consolidate the role of Luxembourg's defence as a united actor and reliable reference partner. "We aim to develop national space capabilities or in cooperation with NATO / EU partners as well as to strengthen the resilience of these capabilities", he explained, emphasising that through this strategy, Luxembourg's defence will not only meet its national needs but will also contribute to those of international organisations and allied countries.

"This will make it possible to guarantee access to and peaceful and sustainable use of space, in compliance with international law, while relying on the skills of the Luxembourg space sector", Minister Bausch concluded.