The European Union, satellites and decisions on the situation in Libya, Iran and others

Written by Abdalla Moustafa
 
A few days ago, the European Union celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of the satellite center "European Space Centre." On this occasion, the European Union's Security and Foreign Policy Coordinator Josep Borrell visited the center's headquarters in Spain
 This visit revealed the extent of European interest in the work of the space center due to the important role it plays in the European political kitchen, which was included in Borrell's statements during the visit. Likewise, in all European capitals, everyone can see what is happening through the images transmitted by the center. Then Borrell used a longer phrase that may sum up the extent to which European decision-makers depend on satellites and scientific and technological development before making a decision when Borrell said in front of the audience, “It is logical that before you decide what to do You have to know what's going on."
Borrell gave examples of several things that contributed to satellites revealing the truth on the ground before the leaders of the European Union took a position on a particular issue, and indicated that Brussels and other capitals watched what was happening all over the world from Somalia to Cuba to Libya through the satellite center. The European “Thanks to the pictures that reach through the center and are obtained from the judiciary, the Europeans know what is happening on the ground, especially in remote and hostile places.”
Borrell admitted that this center gives European officials the opportunity to make better decisions because they know better what is happening
The center has been operating since 1992 and Borrell visited it for the first time after assuming his European position and it was in the year 2020 and at that time he pledged to make the role of the European satellite center bigger and more important and bring it closer to the political orbit of the European Union and Borrell fulfilled what he promised
Borrell addressed the strategic importance of the center and its future role, and explained the three dimensions of the center's work, namely: the first is the unique role of providing European officials with information and helping them in making decisions. This is true for civilian and military missions – and Borrell said, “We have seen examples. There is no doubt that we were not able to make operation IRINI work, which is the European naval mission off the Libyan coast, and thanks to the images of the Space Center, what is happening in the ports of Libya, in its airports, and information was given to operational boats.” Irini to do their job better. Also for North Korea and Iran. It also clearly showed the missiles fired by the People's Republic of Korea. Also what is happening in Iran's nuclear facilities. Borrell stressed that this information is very important for him, as the coordinator of the nuclear agreement negotiations with Iran. And the same With what is happening in the South Caucasus, the recent confrontations between Armenia and Azerbaijan were followed by satellites..
The second relates to the synergies and complementarities offered by the satellite center to EU policies: border management, the space ecosystem, competitiveness and the European space industry. The third dimension is the development of global partnerships with the United Nations, with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). For each of them, a satellite center provides information.

The author of the article is an Egyptian journalist based in Brussels, the capital of the European Union