Key facts
- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen publicly backed a €6.5 billion joint venture between satellite makers Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales.
- The endorsement occurred at a space summit in Paris before the deal underwent formal competition review.
- MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin called von der Leyen's comments an "abuse of power" and misconduct.
- The joint venture, Project Bromo, aims to compete with services like Elon Musk's Starlink.
- Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera, who leads the EU's competition department, has not yet formally assessed the project.
- French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni publicly support the project.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has drawn criticism from a senior EU lawmaker for publicly endorsing a planned €6.5 billion joint venture between major satellite makers Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales. The endorsement, made at a space summit in Paris on September 10, 2026, occurred before the project, known as Project Bromo, has undergone formal competition review by the EU executive.
Von der Leyen described the venture as the type of "industrial champion" Europe needs to lead in the space economy, a sentiment echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who also publicly back the project. However, Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, a French MEP and leading competition lawmaker, rebuked von der Leyen's comments on X, calling the public endorsement an "abuse of power and misconduct" that pre-empts the work of the Commission's competition department, led by Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera.
Project Bromo aims to pool engineering, production, and research capabilities to compete with services like Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink. Backers argue it is crucial for the survival of the European space industry against larger international competitors. However, antitrust experts and lobbyists in Brussels noted the unusual nature of such a public statement on a live merger matter, with some suggesting it was a deliberate political statement by von der Leyen regarding the future direction of merger control. Others, like German lawmaker Andreas Schwab, suggested it was a comment on industrial strength rather than an authorization.
Ribera herself has previously cautioned against mergers solely for scale, emphasizing that "scale, in itself, is not a goal" and that a "blank check for companies to merge" would not necessarily make Europe more competitive. The Commission declined to comment on the matter, stating the merger had not yet been formally notified.