In a white paper called "Space: A New European Frontier for an Expanding Union", the European Commission called for an independent EU presence for space research, security and exploration.

Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin noted that China had last month sent a man into space, while even Brazil and India were looking at carving out their own roles in space independent of the United States or Russia.

"If we do nothing, we'll see the decline of European space power and of European space companies," Busquin told a news conference.

"The development of Europe's capabilities in satellite communications, global positioning and Earth observation will boost applications and have important social, economic and commercial benefits for Europe," he said.

The white paper was presented in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA), an independent body closely linked to the EU that has launched a succession of satellite payloads from French Guiana.

While the EU is expanding its sights beyond the Earth, it is not planning its own manned mission in the wake of the breakthrough by China.

Indeed, the white paper has a business-minded approach, extolling the virtues of investment in space technologies mainly for their commercial and employment spin-offs.

The market for satellite navigation services and related products around the world is growing by 25 percent a year and could reach 100 billion euros by 2010, creating 40,000 skilled jobs in Europe, according to Brussels.

Busquin said satellites would be pivotal to maintaining Europe's technological competitiveness with the United States, noting the ubiquitous role of the technology in modern life from mobile phones to television.

The EU has won Chinese and Indian investment for its Galileo satellite navigation system, which will rival and likely outperform the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States.

The Commission white paper, to be presented to EU member states on November 23, lists six additional priorities for the EU:

-- independent access to space;

-- mastering space technology;

-- contribute to space exploration;

-- attracting youngsters into science careers;

-- strengthening excellence in space science; and

-- fostering competitive, entrepreneurial companies.

The release of the white paper was timely as the 15-nation EU debates a new constitution to get it in shape for the entry of 10 more member states next year.

Space is one of the areas where member countries will have "shared competence" with the EU, giving Brussels a major say in the shaping of policy.

The document proposed three levels of funding for the space programme, ranging from an annual increase of 4.6 percent on the current space budget, down to 3.4 percent and then 2.3 percent.

The lowest figure "would not be sufficient to guarantee EU independence with respect to technology and access to space", the Commission argued.

But spending on space is tight the world over. NASA in the United States has been losing funding for years, a situation that investigators say contributed to the Columbia shuttle disaster in February.

The ESA announced last week that budget constraints had forced it to axe a mission aimed at looking for planets similar to Earth, despite a petition signed by 414 European astronomers.

SPACE.WIRE