EU Ministers Meeting Agrees To Build A Satellite Constellation For Technological Sovereignty

JAKARTA - European Union ministers, who met in Toulouse, on Wednesday 16 February, at a meeting on space policy agreed that the bloc needs an autonomous satellite constellation infrastructure for high-speed internet access.

"This is perhaps the most important achievement of today's meeting," French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said at a press conference after the meeting.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the event, also said that efforts to incorporate the independent construction of a satellite constellation from more advanced projects such as Elon Musk's SpaceX for Europe was a "sovereignty issue".

Although they make up only a small fraction of today's internet traffic, which still relies heavily on a network of underwater fiber optic cables, the constellation of satellites working together is seen by some analysts as a potential technological revolution in the future and in the medium term.

"Europe must replace it in terms of constellations," Macron said.

"The constellations will be at the heart of our existence, our lives," added the French president, citing the use of high-speed, satellite-powered internet in sectors such as autonomous driving technology, emergency services or sea transport.

"Who could have imagined that, since we don't have our own constellation of European satellites, we would decide de facto to hand over our health or traffic data to other powers, to actors who (...) cannot be regulated by European law, " said Macron.

Macron said Europe needed to "act urgently" to catch up with foreign powers such as the United States, China and Russia.

"Space is the key to all of our sovereignty: no mastery of space, no technological, industrial or strategic sovereignty, no in-depth knowledge of key environmental and climate issues. Therefore, outer space is a priority for our Europe," Macron said. as in a tweet on his twitter account.

L'espace est la clé de toutes nos souverainetés : sans maîtrise de l'espace, pas de souveraineté technologique, industrielle, stratégique, pas de connaissance fine des grands enjeux environnementaux et climatiques. L'espace est donc une priorité pour notre Europe. pic.twitter.com/ehVl6oktws

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 16, 2022

This also refers to the ability of private companies such as Tesla owner, Elon Musk, who also owns Starlink and even SpaceX. Musk is considered to have controlled most of the networks in outer space that make it easier for the world's richest person to market the internet network and smart electric cars with internet capabilities.