Karl von Wogau: EU needs satellite-based reconnaissance for ESDP missions

The European Security Round Table, an initiative by Karl von Wogau, reunites once a year high-level representatives from politics, industry and academia in a small circle to discuss about issues of European security. The idea is to treat security with its civil and military dimension and to develop new, innovative ideas for European security. The Round Table brings together Ministries of Defence and Ministries dealing with the civil sides of security, such as Ministries of the Interior, Economics or Research.

Monday 14 May, a European Security Round Table took place in Brussels under the topic “Space – a Dimension for European Security?”. The topic has gained significant momentum with ESA and the Commission signing a common European Space Policy in June. There will also be first calls under the 7th Research Framework Programme of “Space” and “Security” with a combined budget of almost €3bln. Also, GMES and Galileo will certainly move forward over the course of this year.

During the discussions, German MEP Karl von Wogau, argued that the EU needs closer cooperation with regard to satellite-based reconnaissance for European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) missions and to control the EU's common external borders.

Currently this is not the case with, for example, one reconnaissance system, called Helios, owned by France, Spain and Italy while another, SarLupe, is owned by Germany. Although there is cooperation between France and Germany, von Wogau demands that these images should be made available for missions of the European Union via the EU Satellite Centre in Torrejon, Spain.

"We need satellite surveillance for common European crisis management and for the surveillance of the common outside borders of the European Union. We have a common need for satellite surveillance, but we have no common satellites. There are only national reconnaissance systems. I think it would be better and cheaper if we had a common European system of satellite surveillance. The next generation of reconnaissance satellites should be European", says von Wogau.

Further information about the European Security Roundtable are available here.