BRUSSELS: The European Union should fund Ukraine’s access to space services that can be provided by EU-based commercial providers, the European Commission said in its white paper on the future of European defense published on Wednesday.
Europe has been rushing to shield Ukraine’s Internet access after sources close to the matter told Reuters last month that the war-torn country faced imminent shutoff of Elon Musk’s Starlink if it did not sign a minerals deal with the United States.
European satellite operators are in talks with the EU as they have been asked if they can step in and replace Starlink.
The EU should act “in support and upon demand of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the paper said, adding that Kyiv should also be granted access to the bloc’s space program.
“This will help Ukraine to enhance its resilience by diversifying its sources of space-based services,” it said.
Alternative to Starlink
Poland, whose foreign minister at the center of a social media spat with Musk said Ukraine might need an alternative to Starlink, pays for a part of Kyiv’s Starlink connectivity.
Spain’s Hisdesat, one of the satellite companies approached by the EU, said it would increase commercial and military capabilities over Ukraine once its Spainsat NG I satellite enters into service.
“Hispasat (Hisdesat’s largest shareholder) is currently analyzing the different capacities available to provide these services in Ukraine,” a company spokesperson told Reuters.
Franco-British Eutelsat, which manages the only other constellation of low Earth satellites besides Starlink’s, declined to comment.
Luxembourg-based SES did not respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
EU should fund Ukraine’s access to satellite Internet, Commission says
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EU should fund Ukraine’s access to satellite Internet, Commission says
- EU in talks with satellite operators to replace Starlink in Ukraine
- Providers looking to increase capabilities over Ukraine
Campaigning starts in CAR election
- Both of Touadera’s top critics on the ballot paper, ex-Prime Minister Henri-Marie Dondra and the main opposition leader Anicet-Georges Dologuele, had feared they would be barred from the election over nationality requirements
BANGUI: Campaigning has kicked off in the Central African Republic, with the unstable former French colony’s voters set to cast their ballots in a quadruple whammy of elections on Dec. 28.
Besides national, regional and municipal lawmakers, Centrafri-cains are set to pick their president, with incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadera in pole position out of a seven-strong field after modifying the constitution to allow him to seek a third term.
Thousands of supporters packed into a 20,000-seater stadium in the capital Bangui on Saturday to listen to Touadera, accused by the opposition of wishing to cling on as president-for-life in one of the world’s poorest countries.
In his speech, Touadera, who was first elected in 2016 in the middle of a bloody civil war, styled himself as a defender of the country’s young people and insisted there was work to do to curb ongoing unrest.
“The fight for peace and security is not over,” the president warned the packed stands.
“We must continue to strengthen our army in order to guarantee security throughout the national territory and preserve the unity of our country.”
Both of Touadera’s top critics on the ballot paper, ex-Prime Minister Henri-Marie Dondra and the main opposition leader Anicet-Georges Dologuele, had feared they would be barred from the election over nationality requirements.
Touring the capital’s districts alongside a traveling convoy, Dologuele warned that the upcoming vote represents “a choice for national survival; a choice between resignation and hope.”
“Our people have experienced 10 years of this regime. Ten years of waiting, promises and suffering,” he added.
