EU-India Cooperation on Space and Security

As far as security is concerned, space definitely stands out as a critical emerging issue. Space is considered part of the “Sector Policy Cooperation” in the Agenda 2020 endorsed at the latest EU-India Summit on 30 March 2016, but is not included within the Security section even if it may contribute to some of those objectives. Setting aside the national dimension in defence matters, space cooperation represents an optimal choice for the EU-India Security Dialogue, especially considering global security issues such as climate change, natural disasters, the environment, water management, migrant flows, piracy and terrorism. This paper provides insight into the role and place of cooperation in Indian and EU space policies. It then examines the main opportunities for developing space cooperation towards security on Earth. This raises the issue of security in space while taking into account natural and human threats as a new challenge for the EU-India Dialogue. An analysis of current opportunities will provide policy recommendations in order to initiate a deeper dialogue on this increasingly important dimension of EU-India cooperation.

Paper presented at the roundtable on EU-India Security Dialogue held in Mumbai on 7 November 2016 within the framework of the project “Moving Forward the EU-India Security Dialogue: Traditional and Emerging Issues” led by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in partnership with Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations (GH). The project is part of the EU-India Think Tank Twinning Initiative funded by the European Union.