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November 12, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
Generational Renewal in Farming Moves Up Irish Presidency AgendaOACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly Presses Brussels on Fair TradeEIB Investment Survey Shows 85% of EU Firms Kept on SpendingExtended EUMAM Ukraine Mandate Adds Kyiv Presence Through 2028DSA Election Guidelines Bring Deepfake Labels to Video FeedsZaharieva Steers EU Research Security Toward Binding Rules In 2026Deported Ukrainian Children Top Parliament Agenda Before Key VoteConnecting Europe Facility Bid Seeks €91 Billion For Rail And GridsLebanon Security Mission Races the Clock as UNIFIL Winds DownMoldova EU Accession Sprint Puts Chisinau Ahead of KyivBlack Sea Maritime Security Hub Gets €50 Million PushInward FDI Data Show US Investors Lead in 14 EU CountriesHorizon Europe 2028-2034 Funding Clash Reaches ParliamentDrone Strategy Review Finds EU Single Market Stuck On PaperNew Canada EU Alliance Pairs Data Rules With Defence LinksSupermarket Cyberattacks Expose EU Gap On Old ControllersStand-Alone European Social Fund Wins €124 Billion Backing From MEPsGreenhouse Gas Emissions Fall 1.6 percent As Nine Capitals Drift Off TrackHumanitarian Action Reform Puts Starvation Warfare in EU SightsSerbia Accession Talks Get a Fresh Start After Vučić Loses PowerGenerational Renewal in Farming Moves Up Irish Presidency AgendaOACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly Presses Brussels on Fair TradeEIB Investment Survey Shows 85% of EU Firms Kept on SpendingExtended EUMAM Ukraine Mandate Adds Kyiv Presence Through 2028DSA Election Guidelines Bring Deepfake Labels to Video FeedsZaharieva Steers EU Research Security Toward Binding Rules In 2026Deported Ukrainian Children Top Parliament Agenda Before Key VoteConnecting Europe Facility Bid Seeks €91 Billion For Rail And GridsLebanon Security Mission Races the Clock as UNIFIL Winds DownMoldova EU Accession Sprint Puts Chisinau Ahead of KyivBlack Sea Maritime Security Hub Gets €50 Million PushInward FDI Data Show US Investors Lead in 14 EU CountriesHorizon Europe 2028-2034 Funding Clash Reaches ParliamentDrone Strategy Review Finds EU Single Market Stuck On PaperNew Canada EU Alliance Pairs Data Rules With Defence LinksSupermarket Cyberattacks Expose EU Gap On Old ControllersStand-Alone European Social Fund Wins €124 Billion Backing From MEPsGreenhouse Gas Emissions Fall 1.6 percent As Nine Capitals Drift Off TrackHumanitarian Action Reform Puts Starvation Warfare in EU SightsSerbia Accession Talks Get a Fresh Start After Vučić Loses Power

IRIS2 Satellite Constellation Faces A Funding Test Before 2028

Hilmir Bachmann
Policy Watch Editor, Space Policy

Brussels: The IRIS2 satellite constellation is moving from drawing board to build phase just as the EU’s current space budget cycle ends, and the next budget will decide how much Europe can pay for sovereign connectivity. Regulators, EU officials and Barcelona-based operator Sateliot discussed the question at the European Parliament on 13 October 2026.

Money frames the debate. The EU space programme for 2021 to 2027 totals 14.8 billion euros and funds Galileo and Copernicus, and it ends in 2027 together with the seven-year budget. For 2028 to 2034, the Commission proposes to fund space through a European Competitiveness Fund that would set aside 131 billion euros for defence and space together. Operators now ask how much of that sum will reach the IRIS2 satellite constellation and its related services.

The programme is already generating contracts. The Commission’s defence and space department closed bids on 29 September for a four-year framework contract worth 55 million euros that covers IRIS2, space surveillance and tracking, and space economy analysis. In September the European Space Agency selected Sateliot to contribute to the low-orbit layer of the IRIS2 satellite constellation, with in-orbit test missions planned from 2027 to 2029.

Spectrum is the second pressure point. In May the Commission proposed a single EU-wide licence for mobile satellite services in the 2 GHz band, because current rights expire in May 2027. Part of the band would go to European operators and to a secure system linked to IRIS2. Gerasimos Sofianatos of the Commission’s radio spectrum policy unit represented the Commission at the event.

Industry wants decisions soon. Sateliot launched five satellites on 1 October aboard a SpaceX Transporter-18 mission, bringing its total to eleven, and it plans further launches in July 2027 and late 2027. Chief executive Jaume Sanpera argued that Europe must build champions able to compete globally. The company is raising 150 million euros and aims for more than 500 satellites.

Launch capacity matters too. PLD Space won a conditional 158.9 million euro contract under the ESA European Launcher Challenge in August and plans a debut launch from French Guiana by the end of 2026. A European rocket that flies on time would reduce dependence on non-European providers.

The next test comes in the budget negotiations. If governments back the Competitiveness Fund and protect the space share, the IRIS2 satellite constellation can keep its schedule for early deployment, and if they cut it, Europe’s sovereignty argument will lose force.

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