EU SANCTIONS IN THE AVIATION AND SPACE SECTORS ADOPTED FOLLOWING RUSSIA’S AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine stopped many joint scientific space exploration missions and launches of commercial satellites, and resulted in the imposition of economic sanctions that inevitably restrict a number of projects in space. Sanctions have been used by the UN from the 1960s and have grown to be an instrument applied by the international community and individual states to bring about a change in a state’s or individual’s actions and to stop breaches of international law. In the EU, the Treaties also allow imposition of sanctions. The EU sanctions affecting the aviation and space sectors correspond to the EU general legal framework of sanctions, including lists of restricted goods, technologies and services. The nature of cooperation among States in space justifies possible derogations from the restrictive measures and explains why competent authorities may, in strictly defined circumstances, authorize certain transactions. Still, it seems that the lessons learnt from the present situation will accelerate efforts to ensure that the EU is less depended on third states in space projects. The EU’s autonomy in space has now emerged as a strategic objective.