European leaders are confronting their widening gap with the US and China in an accelerating space race, as the continent attempts to build a shared programme after the collapse of collaborative projects with Nasa. Officials warn that failure to establish an autonomous presence could compromise communications, defence and security. The gap, particularly in rocket launchers and satellite constellations, will feature at a summit in Paris this week.

Josef Aschbacher, head of the European Space Agency, said Europe needs to catch up in capability and autonomy, noting only Russia, China and the US can currently send astronauts into space. Under US President Donald Trump, Nasa budget cuts ended the Gateway space station project, which included key contributions from ESA and European companies. Elon Musk's Space X and Amazon's Blue Origin have backed out of the Paris event, according to French officials.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will use her speech, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, to warn that space is too critical to be left to individual member states. European aerospace groups Airbus, Thales and Leonardo, which agreed to merge their space units in a deal codenamed Bromo, are in discussions with the Commission ahead of filing for formal antitrust clearance.