Research reports need references; it is necessary for their content to be accurate and verifiable.
Thereby, when a book is used as a reference for someone’s work, it definitely shows the relevancy of the original publication. Especially when this book is a reference for a report intended for the European Parliament.
Indeed, the book European Space Policy – European integration and the final frontier, (Routledge, 2017), edited by Thomas Hoerber and Paul Stephenson, has been mentioned in a report entitled The European space sector as an enabler of EU strategic autonomy, which was requested by a subcommittee of the European Parliament (the Subcommittee on Security and Defence).
This report for the European Parliament was supervised by the Policy Department for External Relations.
It advocates the needs for the EU to push forward space-related projects, in order to improve the Union’s autonomy as an entity in a global context.
The book edited by Thomas Hoerber and Paul Stephenson is mentioned in the chapter of the report named « “European” or “EU” strategic autonomy? ». This chapter of the report relies on the book to make a clear distinction between the European countries’ space programmes and the ones led by the EU. It concludes by quoting the book:
“Space cooperation in Europe therefore represents a mix of supranational and intergovernmental actors and structures” (page 98-113).
The original publication from Thomas Hoerber, Director of the EU*Asia Institute, and Paul Stephenson, Professor at Maastricht University, explores the different aspects of the European space policies, while also considering their importance in European integration.
Undeniably, this book will have a new impact. Indeed, the report mentioning it will be used for parliamentary work and might have political consequences.
