The above reveals how Europe’s cultural and strategic diversity among nations
is delaying a federation of military space-based systems. This speaks to a much
greater difficulty in creating a real integrated army. In 2018, the European
Commission
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proposed to the European Parliament to spend $19 billion between
2021 to 2027 to build new satellites and launchers. These funds will not be able to
provide real competitive advantages, as almost 80% will be used to cover current
expenditures for two systems already operating in orbit  – Galileo, as we have
discussed, and Copernicus,
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the European Earth observation space-based system.
Only $600 million – or $84 million per year – will be dedicated to technological
innovation.
The twenty-first century can be defined as the era of three empires: the dominant American one, the growing Chinese one and the declining European one.
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https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/eu-budget-%E2%82%AC16-billion-space-programmeboost-eu-space-leadership-beyond-2020_en.
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https://www.copernicus.eu/it.
82 Technopolitics of Space Between History and Realpolitik