Experimentalist Governance in the Space Policy of the European Union

Space assets and services have become strategically important to the European Union since 1990s and all EU objectives would not be achieved without access to space. Therefore civil, commercial, security and defence-related policy objectives are emphasized in the Space Strategy for Europe 2016. The purpose of European space assets, apart from commercial one, seems unclear, especially when space is becoming a more contested environment than in the XXth century. When traditional competitors, namely space-faring powers, could be easily identified, new actors, both private and public, are launching their spacecrafts. Moreover, growing technical capabilities, both to observe from the orbit, and to interfere with other spacecrafts call for greater flexibility and agility in policy making on the European level. Since space has strategic importance for Europe and reinforces the EU’s role as a stronger global player in security and defence the question on the intent of space policy of the EU is more urgent and relevant than ever when aforementioned changes in space environment, the call for greater understanding of EU experimentalist governance in space ought to be headed. The paper seeks to advance scientific knowledge of the political processes that determine the nature and the formation of public policies and EU experimentalist governance regarding space. First of all, space and space systems are strategic and fully global resources, which in comparison to other available EU resources are unique and irreplaceable. Thus, European policy implemented in this dimension both requires a new approach on the part of the EU and draws on many years of experience of other European policies. Second, space resources and systems serve the various goals of the European Union and the Member States in the social, economic and security area, e.g. in the areas of meteorology, navigation, positioning, air and sea traffic control, agriculture and farming, humanitarian operations and responding to natural disasters, national security and border controls. Thirdly, space systems need to be seen through the prism of stimulating growth and innovation, as the space industry and space exploitation mean creating high-skilled jobs, producing and selling innovative services, creating market opportunities in other industrial sectors and the need for active support scientific research. The aim of the paper is to analyze the effectiveness of experimentalist governance in the space policy of the European Union ie. justifications, development, mechanisms and application of international regulatory standards contained in the space policy in a form of experimentalist regimes in transnational governance. It contains most of the key issues and questions concerning the meaning of political action in the EU in the normative, regulatory and economic environment. Hence, the basic premise is that EU experimentalist governance in space meets the interests of the public and private actors, guided by the divergent preferences, which act in a strategic constellations at different stages, and through different channels.