G/TBT/N/EU/1214

1 June 2026

(26-4001)

Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade

Original: English

1.

Notifying Member: EUROPEAN UNION

If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):

2.

Agency responsible:

European Commission

EU-TBT Enquiry Point,

Fax: +(32) 2 299 80 43,

E-mail: grow-eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu

Website: https://technical-barriers-trade.ec.europa.eu/en/home

3.

Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [ ], 5.6.2 [X], 5.7.1 [ ], 3.2 [ ], 7.2 [ ], Other:

4.

Products covered (HS codes or national tariff lines. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): 49 Aircraft and Space Vehicles Engineering

5.

Details of notified document(s) (title, number of pages and languages, means of access): Draft legislative proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities in the Union (COM/2025/335 final) (hereinafter, the 'EU Space Act') including the Explanatory Memorandum, the Main Legal Text, the Legislative Financial and Digital Statement EUR-Lex - 52025PC0335 - EN - EUR-Lex and Annexes 2257596a-0485-465a-8031-a5d43eb5190f_en; (149 page(s), in English), (36 page(s), in English)

Link to notified document(s) and/or contact details for agency or authority which can provide copies upon request:

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2026/TBT/EEC/26_02828_00_e.pdf

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2026/TBT/EEC/26_02828_01_e.pdf

European Commission

EU-TBT Enquiry Point

Fax: + (32) 2 299 80 43

E-mail: grow-eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu

The text is available on the Website: https://technical-barriers-trade.ec.europa.eu/en/home

6.

Description of content: The legislative proposal for the EU Space Act aims to establish the foundation of the EU internal market for space activities by harmonising key requirements concerning the safety, resilience, and environmental sustainability of space activities when providing space services and data in the Union, while at the same time promoting the competitiveness of the European space industry. The legislative proposal will bring about regulatory simplification and legal clarity by creating a stable, clear and predictable business environment for all space operators in the European Union, thus creating a level playing field for Union and third country space operators and space-based data providers. In addition, the proposal addresses the following main issues: first, the existing fragmented regulatory landscape in the internal market which hinders cross-border space activities; second, the risks to the safety, resilience and long-term environmental sustainability of space activities that are being carried out by commercial and governmental actors across the European Union; third, lack of clarity and consistency among existing space activities environmental impacts measurements.

7.

Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: First, the main objective pursued by the legislative proposal for an EU Space Act is to establish the foundation of the internal market for space activities through the harmonisation of key requirements on the safety, resilience and environmental sustainability of space activities when providing space services and space-based data across the European Union. Such harmonization seeks also to address the current fragmentation of the legislative landscape in the space sector across the European Union consisting of 14 different national regulatory approaches.

Second, the legislative proposal aims to protect mainly the orbital and earth environment by establishing rules for safer and more sustainable space activities. The safety rules address the risks posed by the congestion of the orbits and particularly the risk of collision, considering the proliferation of satellites in space and the continued generation of space debris, which remains a persistent and compounding issue. Safety hazards can cause serious consequences both in space and on Earth, by provoking damages and loss of satellites, adversely impacting operations in orbit, with the potential of disrupting or shutting down the use of space-based services and creating collisions with aircraft at re-entry to the Earth. This is only exacerbated by the interconnected nature of activities in Earths orbits, where an unsafe satellite can create risk of collision for all other satellites in the same orbit. Eventually in the worst-case scenario, such unsafe satellite can prevent all future access to space if the Kessler effect has been triggered (whereby one collision has a cascading effect creating continuous collisions in orbit blocking new launches and use of the orbit). The environmental sustainability rules aim at supporting evidence-based decision and policy-making by proposing to establish a common methodology to assess and measure the environmental impacts of space activities.

Third, the legislative proposal seeks to reduce trade barriers and facilitate trade within the European Union by addressing the current fragmented regulatory landscape in the internal market which hinders cross-border space activities and creating instead a stable, clear and predictable business environment for all space operators providing space operation services in the European Union including for third country operators and space-based data providers. At the same time, the proposal seeks to reduce trade barriers and facilitate trade with international partners by ensuring a fair and equal access to the internal market of the European Union to both EU and non-EU space operators as well as the continuity of the international cooperation through several measures such as the possibility of adoption of equivalence decisions, conclusion of international agreements and cooperation with third country public entities; Protection of the environment; Harmonization; Reducing trade barriers and facilitating trade

8.

Relevant documents:

n/a

9.

Proposed date of adoption: 2028 (TBC)

Proposed date of entry into force: 01 January 2030 (TBC)

10.

Provision of comments

Final date for comments: 30 August 2026 (90 days from notification)

[ ] 60 days from notification

Contact details of agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification:

European Commission,

EU-TBT Enquiry Point,

Fax: + (32) 2 299 80 43,

E-mail: grow-eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu