EU Plans To Launch Security Research Programme

SPACEWAR

As it always been, new military technologies are pushing the development of emerging industries such as space - and which still require significant technical breakthroughs to achieve commercial success.

Paris - Oct 21, 2003
A Group of selected personalities from government, industry and academia gathered on 6 October 2003 to define a European agenda for security research. The Group, convened by Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin along with Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, will advise the Commission on the implementation of a Preparatory Action, with ï¿½65 million in funding for 2004-2006.

Space-related applications and services are likely to play a crucial role in the future programme, which will deliver increased security for European citizens while boosting European industry and research.

"It no longer makes sense in today's world," said Philippe Busquin, "to separate so-called civil and military research. The two must go together. There is a tremendous amount of cross-fertilisation and, by continuing to try to keep them apart, we are falling behind on both sides."

Expanding on the idea of cross-fertilisation, Erkki Liikanen said, "There are countless technologies today which were developed for military use and which have found their way into civil applications: fibre optics; internet systems; and the global positioning system (GPS) are just a few examples. A more coherent European defence research agenda will therefore ultimately benefit the civilian sector."

Since 11 September 2001, security has been pushed to the top of the agenda in Europe and across the globe. The situation is characterised by threats that no country is capable of dealing with alone. Indeed, the Union is faced with a number of unique security challenges, including external border controls and peacekeeping duties.

There is currently no coherent approach to security-related research in Europe. While some Member States and groups of Member States do fund such research directly, Europe's security ambitions remain largely unsupported by credible research and industrial capabilities.

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, a key member of the Group, said, "Of course, the main result of this exercise will be a stronger and more secure Europe. This is a new area for us, a subject which we haven't wanted to touch before, but it is time for Europe to take its place and to have a greater impact on the global security situation."

Recent public opinion polls show that European citizens expect government to take a more international approach when it comes to security and are increasingly in favour of a common European Defence Policy. The European Council, Parliament and various industries have repeatedly encouraged the Commission to undertake actions to strengthen Europe's long-term security capacities.

A key role for space
The development of a common security and defence policy, giving the Union the ability to decide and act autonomously, mobilising both civil and military forces, cannot be credible without a clear approach to space-based defence.

Recent events have demonstrated convincingly the importance of information supplied by space technologies, both in peace and in war. Today, information superiority is an essential requirement for defence and security, and space is the best base for worldwide observation and data collection.

A number of space-related defence projects are already being undertaken in Europe. The Besoins Opï¿½rationnels Communs (BOC) initiative, for example, combines the capabilities of existing French, German and Italian earth observation satellites to provide rapid and secure information delivery to partner countries.

Meanwhile, the European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC), located in Torrejon, Spain, has, since January 2002, been dedicated to the production and exploitation of information derived primarily from the analysis of earth observation space imagery from a range of European satellite systems.

The GMES and GALILEO programmes are also likely to play key roles in future space-based security and defence, both possessing highly rated 'dual-use' (civil and military) capabilities. Speaking at the Group of Personalities' meeting, Franï¿½ois Heisbourg of the France's Strategic Research Foundation said, "GALILEO is a prime example of how Europe can, even with a limited budget, succeed in a common, highly complex and strategic research programme."

The 'Group of Personalities' represents the first step in establishing the vision and aims of European security research. Its recommendations will be included in a Communication to be presented by the Commission by the end of 2003. The initial phase of the Preparatory Action will aim to define and foster the development of a long-term security research strategy.

Following the adoption of the Commission's Security Research Communication, 'Towards a programme to advance European security through research and technology', at the end of 2003, the Preparatory Action and the first calls for proposals will be launched in 2004.

SPACEWAR

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