Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner responsible for defence and space affairs, recently stated that the EU plans to significantly increase satellite launches in the coming years and is seeking to establish launch sites outside the EU, including in Canada.

Citing Kubilius, British sources reported on the 26th that compared with the period from 2016 to 2024, the EU plans to increase the number of government satellite launches from nearly 70 to nearly 630 over the next eight years, double the number of commercial satellites to 1,000, and raise the number of defence satellites from approximately 20 to nearly 300.

Kubilius expects that by 2034, the EU will require 62 rocket launches per year, which is six times the current level. "We treat launch capability as a very important priority in space activities, and this is crucial for us," he said.

The EU's current space launch activities are mainly conducted at a launch site in French Guiana in South America. Kubilius stated that by 2034, the annual launch capacity of that site needs to increase from the current 10 times per year to 14 times.

In addition, the EU is seeking to open up launch sites on the European continent and outside the EU, including in Norway, Scotland in the United Kingdom, and Canada, and it needs more launch sites capable of performing heavy-lift launch missions.