Non-EU countries such as Norway, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom can join the EU's secure satellite network IRIS², as an alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink, reported Euractiv Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius, writes UNN.
Details
Unlike Norway, which is already negotiating with the European Commission to join the IRIS² satellite network program, neither Ukraine nor the United Kingdom has yet started negotiations to join.
However, Ukraine has relied on Musk's SpaceX to provide telecommunications services for its military operations against Russian invaders. At the same time, there is general concern about the level of dominance of the Starlink constellation in the space telecommunications market.
This gives IRIS², which is expected to cost 10.6 billion euros and consist of approximately 280 satellites after launch in the 2030s, an opportunity to capture market share.
I wouldn't be against it
The United Kingdom has significant experience in space, while Ukraine has significant potential, as it was a key space center during Soviet times, Kubilius added.
Starlink resumed operations after global outage - SpaceX7/25/25, 3:24 AM • [views_38421]
Iceland - also a European Economic Area country, like Norway - announced that it had completed negotiations with the Commission earlier this month regarding participation in IRIS².
Kubilius spoke just weeks after the presentation of the EU Space Act, which was submitted by the Commission on June 25 and caused intense behind-the-scenes negotiations on the scope of the rules.
While the finalization of the legislation will take years, its provisions could in the future prevent companies like Musk's SpaceX from gaining access to EU consumers with their satellite services.
However, Kubilius said that so far there have been no negative hints about the project.
So far, I have not received any hints that the Americans will react to the EU Space Act
Addition
Elon Musk ordered the shutdown of Starlink terminals in the Kherson region in September 2022, which caused communication disruptions and prevented the encirclement of Russian positions. This incident was the first known case of Starlink being shut down on the battlefield, raising concerns about the billionaire's influence on geopolitics.