November 5, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
Importers Count Down To EU Deforestation Regulation DateFactories Slow As Euro Area Industrial Production DropsCircular Economy Act Slips A Week As Textile Makers PushDAC Recast Would Fold Nine Tax Cooperation Directives Into OneThird-Country Satellites Face EU Space Act Certification HurdleMexico Signature Gives EU-Mexico Agreement Its First Real TestGulf Partnership Stalls as the EU-GCC Summit Loses Its New DateIndonesia Trade Agreement Targets 2027 Start For Palm Oil And TextilesMercosur Agreement Waits On Court As Farm Fears PersistSouth Korea Summit Adds Defence And Digital Trade PillarsCouncil Receives EU India Trade Deal With €4 Billion SavingsInfringement Procedures Hit Ten Year High In Commission ReviewGreen Claims Directive Withdrawn After Three Years Of StalemateEU Customs Reform Puts Parcel Handling Fee On 1 November ClockEuro Area Inflation Hits 4.0 percent In October As Energy Costs Jump 20.8 percentBaltic Sea Fishing Opportunities Rise For Herring And Sprat In 2027Brussels Convenes Ukraine Reconstruction Talks Before Abu Dhabi RoundBeijing Consensus Points Leave EU China Trade Talks Short On DetailEhler Compromise Reshapes European Competitiveness FundRescuers Gather At European Civil Protection Forum 2026Importers Count Down To EU Deforestation Regulation DateFactories Slow As Euro Area Industrial Production DropsCircular Economy Act Slips A Week As Textile Makers PushDAC Recast Would Fold Nine Tax Cooperation Directives Into OneThird-Country Satellites Face EU Space Act Certification HurdleMexico Signature Gives EU-Mexico Agreement Its First Real TestGulf Partnership Stalls as the EU-GCC Summit Loses Its New DateIndonesia Trade Agreement Targets 2027 Start For Palm Oil And TextilesMercosur Agreement Waits On Court As Farm Fears PersistSouth Korea Summit Adds Defence And Digital Trade PillarsCouncil Receives EU India Trade Deal With €4 Billion SavingsInfringement Procedures Hit Ten Year High In Commission ReviewGreen Claims Directive Withdrawn After Three Years Of StalemateEU Customs Reform Puts Parcel Handling Fee On 1 November ClockEuro Area Inflation Hits 4.0 percent In October As Energy Costs Jump 20.8 percentBaltic Sea Fishing Opportunities Rise For Herring And Sprat In 2027Brussels Convenes Ukraine Reconstruction Talks Before Abu Dhabi RoundBeijing Consensus Points Leave EU China Trade Talks Short On DetailEhler Compromise Reshapes European Competitiveness FundRescuers Gather At European Civil Protection Forum 2026
November 5, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
Importers Count Down To EU Deforestation Regulation DateFactories Slow As Euro Area Industrial Production DropsCircular Economy Act Slips A Week As Textile Makers PushDAC Recast Would Fold Nine Tax Cooperation Directives Into OneThird-Country Satellites Face EU Space Act Certification HurdleMexico Signature Gives EU-Mexico Agreement Its First Real TestGulf Partnership Stalls as the EU-GCC Summit Loses Its New DateIndonesia Trade Agreement Targets 2027 Start For Palm Oil And TextilesMercosur Agreement Waits On Court As Farm Fears PersistSouth Korea Summit Adds Defence And Digital Trade PillarsCouncil Receives EU India Trade Deal With €4 Billion SavingsInfringement Procedures Hit Ten Year High In Commission ReviewGreen Claims Directive Withdrawn After Three Years Of StalemateEU Customs Reform Puts Parcel Handling Fee On 1 November ClockEuro Area Inflation Hits 4.0 percent In October As Energy Costs Jump 20.8 percentBaltic Sea Fishing Opportunities Rise For Herring And Sprat In 2027Brussels Convenes Ukraine Reconstruction Talks Before Abu Dhabi RoundBeijing Consensus Points Leave EU China Trade Talks Short On DetailEhler Compromise Reshapes European Competitiveness FundRescuers Gather At European Civil Protection Forum 2026Importers Count Down To EU Deforestation Regulation DateFactories Slow As Euro Area Industrial Production DropsCircular Economy Act Slips A Week As Textile Makers PushDAC Recast Would Fold Nine Tax Cooperation Directives Into OneThird-Country Satellites Face EU Space Act Certification HurdleMexico Signature Gives EU-Mexico Agreement Its First Real TestGulf Partnership Stalls as the EU-GCC Summit Loses Its New DateIndonesia Trade Agreement Targets 2027 Start For Palm Oil And TextilesMercosur Agreement Waits On Court As Farm Fears PersistSouth Korea Summit Adds Defence And Digital Trade PillarsCouncil Receives EU India Trade Deal With €4 Billion SavingsInfringement Procedures Hit Ten Year High In Commission ReviewGreen Claims Directive Withdrawn After Three Years Of StalemateEU Customs Reform Puts Parcel Handling Fee On 1 November ClockEuro Area Inflation Hits 4.0 percent In October As Energy Costs Jump 20.8 percentBaltic Sea Fishing Opportunities Rise For Herring And Sprat In 2027Brussels Convenes Ukraine Reconstruction Talks Before Abu Dhabi RoundBeijing Consensus Points Leave EU China Trade Talks Short On DetailEhler Compromise Reshapes European Competitiveness FundRescuers Gather At European Civil Protection Forum 2026

Irish Presidency Redrafts EU Space Act And Reopens Dual Use Debate

Hilmir Bachmann
Policy Watch Editor, Space Policy

Toulouse: The EU Space Act reached a new draft stage on 29 October 2026, when the Irish Presidency of the Council released an updated compromise text, listed as Council document ST-15118-2026-INIT. It replaces the Cypriot Presidency text of 30 March 2026 and tries to close a file that ministers described in May as far from complete.

The Commission presented the EU Space Act in June 2025 as a legislative framework for space activities in the Union, with technical requirements on space safety and debris mitigation. At the ministerial discussion on 29 May 2026, Cyprus’s minister Nicodemos Damianou said there was still a great deal of work to do, and the presidency reported progress on third-country links and on rules for space services and space-based data.

Two issues stayed open: the scope of the text and the treatment of dual-use activities. Germany’s deputy permanent representative Helen Winter called the legislation unsatisfactory and asked for a technologically open, risk-based approach. French minister Philippe Baptiste stressed national security prerogatives, notably over launches because of international liability.

Other capitals pulled in different directions. Poland’s Michał Baranowski wanted effective European governance with safeguards for member states, while Denmark’s Christina Egelund asked for lighter and more flexible governance and a defence-sector exemption. Italy’s ambassador Marco Canaparo said the equivalence regime for third countries must be clear and practical, because it is not about penalising anyone.

Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius took the opposite view on dual use. He wants minimum harmonisation of governance structures and argues that dual-use satellites carry the same debris and collision risk as other satellites, so technical obligations must be identical. He hoped for agreement under the Irish Presidency in the second half of 2026, which leaves about eight weeks.

The EU Space Act also draws attention outside Europe. The United States Department of Commerce, working with the State Department, is reviewing the Irish text and has invited American stakeholders to send feedback. A separate Commission proposal from April 2026 on the EU Agency for the Space Programme faces its own disputes over the agency’s mandate, the governor’s role and the autonomy of the Security Accreditation Board.

The summaries available do not say what changed in the 29 October text, and they do not describe the Parliament’s position, so readers should consult the Council document itself. The EU Space Act will succeed or stall on whether the Irish compromise bridges the split over scope and dual use; if it does, a December deal is possible, and if not, the file slips into 2027.

Comments