ESPI was tasked to prepare this report for the European Economic and Social Committee. You can read and download the report here.
The study aims at understanding the links between space and civil society, and explaining how the latter is involved and consulted in EU space policy-making. The report presents the complex governance of European space activities and the different organisations involved in it. It also describes the general impact of the space sector on European economy and analyses specific EU policies in more depth (on green, digital and security) to assess to which extent they integrate the use of space solutions. The study then identifies the gaps to fill in the EU toolkit and the barriers to overcome to better involve European citizens in EU space policy and its elaboration. The report concludes with recommendations for the EESC and other EU institutions for their future engagement with civil society on space policy. These recommendations focus on three dimensions: communication (to improve awareness on the benefits provided by space), action (to ensure a greater uptake of EU space solutions) and evaluation (to ensure the effectiveness of engagement activities).
