The EU’s proposed Space Act is why the White House asked American companies to not go to a French space summit, and they quickly agreed
This label would be more accurate if it read
“NOT made in the European Union”
When asked by the White House earlier this week to not attend a French space summit being held next week, four American space companies — SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, and Starcloud — quickly agreed and pulled out of the conference.
While the press reports have tried to imply that Trump threatened these companies if they attended the conference, the truth is that the administration didn’t have to make any threats at all. What happened was that it likely pointed out that the Europe Union (EU) — with France’s blessings — is considering passing a truly oppressive Space Act that would impose odious regulations on the American space industry, and that the State Department, and both the American and European space industries have objected strongly to that language. To attend the conference would not only imply acceptance of the proposed act, it would encourage the EU to pass it. As noted in August 2026 by the Computer & Communications Industry Association, an American trade organization for the satellite industry:
The EU Space Act could impose billions in incremental compliance costs on U.S. companies, which would lead to increased market prices, reduced U.S. exports, reduced U.S. tax revenues, harm to the U.S. space industry’s global competitiveness, increased global market share in dual-use space assets for China, and by extension harm to U.S. national security interests.
The worst part of the act, as noted by a European think tank that supports the law, is that it “aims to extend the EU’s jurisdiction to space service providers based outside the EU.”
It thus didn’t take much to convince these companies to pull out, especially because it appears the present French government under Emmanuel Macron is likely playing a very influential part in pushing to pass the Space Act. Any action by American companies to encourage those polices in Europe would be very counterproductive to their own interests.
Expect this divide between Europe and the U.S. to widen if the European Union persists and passes this law that tries impose its rule on American sovereignty. Its only accomplishment will be to harm to the EU’s space industry by isolating it from American customers.
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Canada and the EU are at war with Trump because he cut off American taxpayer’s funding of their failed collapsing “Democratic Socialism”.
The EU is horrible. My first wife was from the UK. Back in the 1980s the EU (read France) tried to stop home milk delivery in the UK, stop lamb production in the UK, reduce the number of varieties of potatoes grown in the UK and reduce the number of varieties of apples grown in the UK. For the milk, France could export more of its milk to the stores in the UK (implied). For the lamb, France explicitly stated that the UK lamb could be replaced with French lamb. Probably similar things for potatoes and apples. France thinks they are the EU and uses it as a cudgel to increase their economy. In the case of the Space Act, second rate France wants to rule the world in part through it.
Mark Carney would dearly love to make Canada part of the EU. Since he claims that we’re at war with “bad orange man” as a result of the tariff disputes, shouldn’t he have recalled our own Parliament to debate the matter instead of gallivanting (again) in Europe?
The man has spent much more of his adult life in the EU than he has in Canada. He pretty much is a European. Small wonder he leaps at any chance to go back “home” and away from all of you North American rustics.
That could explain why the German rocket firm Isar signed an agreement with the outfit that has the concrete slab launch pad in Nova Scotia.
The RCAF is in need of new fighter planes and the choice is between what Saab has offered and the F-35. Carney appears to be leaning towards the Swedes, even though that aircraft is older and has fewer capabilities than the Lightning II.
My understanding from the literature is that the F-35 blew the Saab out of the water, so to speak. You might think that with Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Denmark, EU countries all, operating the Lightning II (and no one calls it that), Canada would be eager to write a check to Lockheed Martin.
You can’t expect rational behavior from someone who governs entirely by tantrum and pique.
Looking around the per airframe cost of the F-35 A is $85-92 (US) million/airframe. Quotes on the Grippen (JAS29) run $62-85 million so depending on quantities it could be a difference of up to $30 Million/ airframe. SAAB has also offered to do the manufacturing in Canada, something Lockheed/Martin has not offered(and may not be able to offer). Final issue is maintenance. The CAF had over 130 CF18 originally, it now has 85 ( and 10 Australian F/A-18 it got at a fire sale as Australia moved to the F-35). How many of it’s ~95 fighters are combat ready is anyone’s guess. The F35 are less expensive to maintain than the F22 (which you can’t buy as congress forbid it AND the line is long closed) but no 5th generation stealth fighter is in any way cheap to operate. Honestly, what does Canada do with its air force? It chases off the occasional Russian Bear bomber and takes part in various peacekeeping exercises where, in general, it is in opposition to primarily 3rd and 4th gen fighters. At least with respect to strategic warfare (part of the old NORAD grouping) there isn’t much call for interceptors and honestly the US has WAY more of them in any case with 7x the size of the CAF fighters in just F15 and F22 types. Combine the Liberals’ distaste for their military with their utter hatred of Trump and (the US by Proxy) and although shortsighted their choice is unsurprising given their leadership.
The unelected EU Apparatchiks are also probably drooling at all of the private $$$ that American Capitalism In Space has created.
Just the other day
“” Brussels Eyes Private Savings as Public Money Runs Out””
There is one quote about “too much private money being savings accounts in European banks”
They are running out of other people’s money.
https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/brussels-eyes-private-savings-as-public-money-runs-out/
That was proposed here in Canada a few years ago. One idea was to tax homeowners on the equity in their house, the potential worth if it was sold right now. (The actual profit is subject to capital gains tax.)
The federal government was running out of virtue-signalling money that it could fritter away. You name the fruitloop idea and, chances are, it would be funded.
I remember when, several years ago, Justin Trudeau told a disabled military veteran (who had been wounded in Afghanistan) that the vets couldn’t receive proper support because they were “asking for too much”.
In fairness, Trudeau was just offering that wounded vet what the Canadian health service now aggressively offers regular civilians who get expensively sick – humane euthanasia. After all, how are they to continue to hire more bureaucrats if you ungrateful curs keep getting sick and using up all the money on – you know – health care.
I think Trudeau hesitated to push that idea very far because he certainly appreciated that Canadian boomers are both the largest cohort of homeowners and also a bedrock of Liberal support. That’s even more true now with the Trump tariff war, which has so many of those Canuck boomers performatively overdosing on “elbows out” spasms of TDS.
The latest grousing
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/a-grenade-is-metaphorically-thrown-into-international-space-relations.52265/
boo-hoo