The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted on 15 July 2026 its opinion on the proposed regulation to establish a permanent European Union Space Services Agency, broadly supporting the initiative while attaching conditions on funding, staffing, and legal clarity. The opinion, published as a Council cover note on 23 July 2026, welcomes the creation of the Agency through a self-standing founding act that would decouple it from the seven-year Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), ensuring long-term legal certainty and operational continuity beyond MFF cycles.
The EESC recommends that the Agency prepare for cooperation with the upcoming European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) by designing streamlined access for SMEs and start-ups, a move aimed at fostering innovation and reducing bureaucratic barriers for smaller players in the space sector. The Committee supports 24/7 crisis-management mechanisms for hybrid, cyber, and space weather threats, but insists they must uphold EU labour standards, working time rules, and adequate compensation for staff.
On the Agency's location, the EESC endorses keeping its headquarters in Prague, with transparent local technical offices near ground-based infrastructure, avoiding fragmentation of operations. The Committee calls for a balanced, phased transfer of new tasks — including Space Surveillance and Tracking, Space Weather Events, Radio Frequency Interference, Earth Observation Governmental Service operations, and IRIS² — only when operationally ready and with adequate human resources.
The EESC advocates maintaining the proposed EUR 979.6 million budget for 2028–2034, warning that cuts could jeopardise security accreditation and operational continuity. It insists on strict structural independence of the Security Accreditation Board (SAB) and views the proposed three-month tacit approval mechanism with caution, suggesting it could undermine accountability. The Committee stresses that the Agency's tasks must be defined with legal certainty, avoiding vague formulations like 'subject to' or 'when necessary'.
The opinion balances support for EU institutional capacity-building with concrete demands. For EU space agencies and the Commission, the EESC's backing provides political momentum for the legislative process, but its insistence on full funding and phased task transfers may slow implementation. For SMEs and start-ups, the call for streamlined ECF access could lower barriers to participation in space programmes. For the Agency's future workforce, the emphasis on labour standards and compensation offers protection but may increase operational costs. For EU taxpayers, the EESC's defence of the proposed budget ensures no immediate savings, though long-term efficiency gains from a permanent agency are anticipated.
The opinion now feeds into the ordinary legislative procedure, where the European Parliament and the Council will negotiate the final regulation. The Commission's original proposal, tabled in early 2026, sought to replace the temporary EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) with a permanent body to manage growing space assets and security demands.