Overview
- Aschbacher has proposed a €22 billion package for 2026–2028, with ministers set to decide the final figure on 26–27 November.
- Germany indicates a markedly higher national contribution, reported in the €5–6 billion range, under ESA’s rule that funds translate into domestic industrial contracts.
- Berlin appointed former ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter to head the government’s space and security department just before the talks.
- Strategic autonomy drives the push after Europe lost access to Russian Soyuz launches and at times relied on SpaceX, with concerns about the reliability of external partners.
- The final settlement typically lands below the director’s proposal, with Bremen’s major space cluster—Airbus, ArianeGroup and OHB—closely watching priorities like Ariane 6, Earth observation and Orion’s service module.