On 25 June 2025, the European Commission published its proposal for a Regulation on the safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities, informally referred to as the EU Space Act. The public consultation opened on 15 July 2025 and continued until 24 November 2025.
If adopted, the Regulation would establish the first single EU-level framework governing space activities across Member States. For small jurisdictions such as Malta, this development raises both strategic opportunities and practical challenges.
The EU Space Act: A Single Regulatory Orbit
The proposed Regulation is structured around three core pillars:
- Safety
- Resilience
- Environmental sustainability
The Commission has acknowledged that 13 different national approaches currently create fragmentation, additional compliance costs, and uncertainty for operators. The EU Space Act therefore seeks to harmonise rules on authorisation, registration, supervision, and market access in order to create a functioning single market for space services.
The proposal also introduces mandatory debris mitigation, post-mission disposal requirements, collision-avoidance data sharing, cybersecurity obligations aligned with existing EU resilience frameworks, and enhanced risk-management requirements.
The ambition is clear: Europe intends to position itself as a global standard-setter in space safety and sustainability.
Malta’s National Space Framework
Malta has not remained passive in this evolving landscape.
Through the Malta National Space Strategy, ratification of the European Space Agency (ESA) Plan for European Cooperating States (PECS) Agreement in June 2024, and the ongoing work on a Draft Space Activities Act, Malta has been actively building its domestic legal and institutional capacity.
The Draft Space Activities Act aims to establish:
- Licensing requirements for space operators
- Liability and safety provisions
- Environmental safeguards
- Supervisory mechanisms aligned with international obligations
At the same time, engagement with ESA has strengthened Malta’s administrative and technical capabilities. These steps signal a deliberate effort to position Malta as a niche but credible participant in the European space ecosystem.
Opportunities for Small Member States
For Malta, a harmonised EU framework may offer tangible benefits.
A single regulatory regime could reduce fragmentation and make it easier for Maltese-based startups and SMEs to scale across the EU market. Investor confidence may increase if authorisation and supervision follow common EU standards rather than diverging national approaches.
An EU-level framework may also strengthen Malta’s credibility when attracting space-related investment and services.
Risks and Implementation Challenges
However, harmonisation is not cost-neutral.
Several concerns have been raised by industry stakeholders:
- The potential extra-territorial reach of the Regulation
- The burden of compliance on SMEs and smaller operators
- The reliance on delegated acts and technical standards to be adopted at a later stage
- The risk that regulatory timelines may not align with innovation cycles
For smaller Member States, administrative and supervisory capacity is a central issue. Harmonised rules often require national authorities to implement and enforce authorisation and reporting obligations. Without proportionality and transitional support, compliance costs may disproportionately affect emerging ecosystems.
Malta’s competitive advantage has historically included regulatory agility. Harmonisation may reduce flexibility, even while increasing legal certainty.
A Strategic Moment for Engagement
The consultation period, open until 24 November 2025, represents a significant opportunity for Maltese stakeholders to engage constructively in shaping the final framework.
These issues are not merely theoretical. They are currently being debated across legal, regulatory and industry forums as the EU Space Act progresses through consultation.
I will be contributing to this discussion at an upcoming industry event, called ‘Space Data, Financial Futures: The New Frontier for Banking, Insurance and Law‘ and hosted by Xjenza Malta. We will be examining the implications of the EU Space Act for Malta and other small Member States. Such dialogue is essential to ensure that safety and sustainability objectives are met without imposing disproportionate burdens on emerging space ecosystems.
Conclusion
The EU Space Act is a significant and welcome step toward addressing fragmentation in European space regulation. Its focus on safety, resilience and sustainability reflects genuine and pressing concerns in an increasingly congested and commercialised orbital environment.
For Malta, however, the Regulation presents a delicate balance.
It may enhance market access and investor confidence. Yet it may also introduce new compliance demands and reduce national regulatory flexibility.
The outcome will depend on how proportionality, transitional support, and capacity-building measures are embedded in the final text.
As Malta continues to develop its national space framework, the interaction between domestic legislation and EU-level harmonisation will shape the island’s role in Europe’s emerging space economy.
Asteria Advisory can support governments and economic operators in treading this delicate ground. Contact us for further information or a consultation.
About the Author
Dr Geraldine Spiteri is Founder and Principal Advisor at Asteria Advisory, advising on aviation, maritime and transport asset regulation, including aircraft and vessel registration, cross-border structuring and emerging space law frameworks. She is currently pursuing advanced studies in Air and Space Law at Leiden University.
