In a last-minute addition to the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of digital ministers in Nicosia, Spain and France said the EU must include satellite spectrums in its wider effort to set up a preference for homegrown technology, effectively excluding foreign-owned firms from critical sectors, according to a text seen by POLITICO.
“It is time to decide whether we want our skies to be stronger or dependent,” Spain’s Digital Transformation Minister Óscar López told his counterparts on Thursday. “It is time to make European satellite industry great again.”
“From the ground to the sky, infrastructures like telecommunications are a critical asset if we truly believe in digital sovereignty,” López said. The minister said national capitals must be closely involved in the auction.
European Commission tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters that the spectrum allocation will be “co-legislation” involving both the Commission and EU countries. Brussels is finalizing its proposal, which will come out “very soon,” she added.
Just this week Beijing threatened retaliation if Brussels limits the access of Chinese companies to the EU’s critical tech sectors.
Virkkunen said any restrictions on the providers of critical tech infrastructure “will be a very, very tailor-made approach.” She added any limitation “will look at each component and what kind of risk and how to mitigate the risks.”