Securing the Final Frontier: Collaborative Pathways for India and Europe in Space Governance and Security.
This policy brief explores pathways for India and Europe to elevate their long-standing but underutilized space cooperation into a structured partnership. It argues that converging political, economic, and security interests ranging from human spaceflight and the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor to resilient satellite communications and space situational awareness make collaboration both urgent and strategic. Opportunities include joint applications for connectivity, astronaut training, interoperable navigation systems, and shared disaster-response capabilities. At the governance level, India’s Global South credibility and Europe’s regulatory influence can jointly shape global norms on debris mitigation, traffic management, and responsible behaviour in orbit. However, challenges remain: India’s multi-alignment with Russia, EU regulatory frictions, and trust deficits must be managed. The brief recommends institutionalising an India-EU Space Dialogue, aligning investment and procurement frameworks, and embedding space in broader strategic, trade, and diplomatic agendas to secure the global commons. This policy brief explores pathways for India and Europe to elevate their long-standing but underutilized space cooperation into a structured partnership. It argues that converging political, economic, and security interests ranging from human spaceflight and the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor to resilient satellite communications and space situational awareness make collaboration both urgent and strategic. Opportunities include joint applications for connectivity, astronaut training, interoperable navigation systems, and shared disaster-response capabilities. At the governance level, India’s Global South credibility and Europe’s regulatory influence can jointly shape global norms on debris mitigation, traffic management, and responsible behaviour in orbit. However, challenges remain: India’s multi-alignment with Russia, EU regulatory frictions, and trust deficits must be managed. The brief recommends institutionalising an India-EU Space Dialogue, aligning investment and procurement frameworks, and embedding space in broader strategic, trade, and diplomatic agendas to secure the global commons.
The original and longer version of this paper, co-written with Marco Aliberti of the European Space Policy Institute for the Heinrich Böll Stiftung and published by the Council for Strategic and Defence Research, is available here https://csdronline.com/global-gateway-advancing-eu-india-priorities-in-the-indo-pacific-copy/
