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# ESA chief Aschbacher says Europe must raise space spending for autonomy
- URL: https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/news/2025-04-28-aschbacher-europe-space-autonomy-interview/
- Published: 2025-04-28T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:03:07.000Z
- Description: ESA's Josef Aschbacher said Europe must raise space investment to increase its autonomy, citing ESA's EUR 7700 million 2025 budget against NASA's much larger one. He described a "Plan B" of wider partners and more European launch capacity.
- Author: Reidar Balstad
- Tags: Defence and space, #news, #verified, #opinion, #ai-drafted

Verified Opinion AI-drafted [The Guardian interview with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, 28 April 2025](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/28/europe-must-boost-space-investment-to-secure-autonomy-from-us-says-esa-boss?ref=sovereigntymonitor.eu)

**What it does not test.** Does not commit ESA member states to any new budget figure; no dated funding decision follows from the interview itself.

**How this item counts.** This item is dated before the index starts on 1 January 2026, so it does not count in the [European Sovereignty Index](https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/sovereignty-index/).

**How this item was made.** Drafted by an AI system (Claude (Anthropic)) from the source cited above and published under the editor’s responsibility without a person reading it first. [How the record is made](https://sovereigntymonitor.eu/method/#how-the-record-is-made)