European Parliament Member Advocates for Unified Approach to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena in New Space Law
Written by Christopher Sharp - 18 February 2024
Member of the European Parliament, Francisco Guerreiro, has urged the European Union (EU) to gather and evaluate data concerning Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).
Guerreiro's remarks, delivered during the European Parliament's plenary session on 5 February, coincide with the development of a new European Space Law, slated to be released in draft form in the coming weeks.
This Space Law initiative is spearheaded by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, in collaboration with the European Space Agency.
During the plenary session, Guerreiro stated regarding the Space Law:
“In the security pillar, there is a gap that needs to be filled. Currently, the EU doesn’t have a harmonising scientific system to report Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. This topic, which is a serious issue, needs to be addressed and is being dealt with the utmost importance in other countries.”
He added:
“It is fundamental that the EU Commission includes, in the European Space Law, a program to collect data on UAPs as well as the scientific body to analyze these events in a transparent and public way.”
Separately, Guerreiro sent written questions to the EU Commission:
Does the Commission have any knowledge or documentation about UAPs that has been collected by Member States or EU agencies, such as the European Union Agency for the Space Programme?
Does the European Defence Agency (EDA) have any reports about UAPs and does the EDA have internal protocols for receiving reports about UAPs from Member States in a transparent and accountable way?
With regard to civil aviation, does the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have any reports about UAPs and does the EASA have internal protocols for receiving reports about UAPs from pilots and radar operators in a transparent and accountable way?
In a written response, Thierry Breton stated that the EU Space Programme, conducted in cooperation with various stakeholders including EUSPA and ESA, primarily focuses on Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation, and Space Situational Awareness.
However, Breton clarified that it does not involve gathering information on UAP. He emphasized that the responsibility for handling safety reports on unidentified airborne objects lies with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and EU civil aviation authorities.
Speaking to Liberation Times, Guerreiro commented:
"We should have a unified, centralized, scientific approach to understand what UAP represents. We should be asking: how can we monitor them? How can pilots and astronauts report UAP safely so that events can be analyzed scientifically in a transparent way, allowing us to assess what they are?"
Explaining why he chose to engage on the topic, Guerreiro identified his sceptical approach and upbringing:
"My mother was a biologist and she was always passionate about science. Through my upbringing, I understand that we need to take a curious look at the world around us.
“We know that the issue of unknown phenomena is real, and since I'm very critical and analytical, I always maintain a very sceptical approach.”
“Since I'm a very sceptical person, I feel that we need to understand what UAPs represent.
“If we don't know what they are, we should have a system to analyze them and then separate what we do know from what we don't know. And on that small percentage that we don't know, we have to really understand what's going on."
The economic area of the EU represents the second-largest economy in the world, after the United States, making it critical for it to remain scientifically and technologically competitive.
Asked whether the European Space Agency has been acting with transparency on the UAP topic, Guerreiro disputed the assertion, and instead suggested that the agency needed more resources:
”I don't think the European Space Agency has the capability to study this. Even if they see UAP, I don't think they have the resources or structural capability to handle reports.”“This is partly why I’m asking for us to have a common approach when we look at space, when we look at civil aviation, and also the military aspect of it.
“If we could have a common approach to our common space, that would be a positive game changer. Because then we would concretely know where we can lodge reports and understand how they are handled.
“I think it's also relevant for [EU] member states to cooperate with each other, to understand where they can make contributions to improve any monitoring system.”
Guerreiro added that ‘professional people’ have approached him regarding objects in the sky that they cannot explain.
Regarding this, he is looking for a safe space, where they can report what they observe:
“They are credible people and need a safe space where they can make reports which can be analyzed in a very scientific and professional way.”
With the European Commission set to release its first draft of the Space Law, Guerreiro is willing to fight for the inclusion of UAP provisions.
Following the release of its first draft, the European Parliament will be able to make amendments and compromise on a final proposal.
Although Guerreiro, who represents Portugal at the Parliament, will not be standing for re-election this summer, he hopes that he has planted the seeds for a possible bi-partisan movement similar to what is occurring in the USA, where the topic of UAP has brought political opponents together.
He commented:
"I would like to see a movement similar to what happened in the USA, where there was bipartisan collaboration on UAP.
“Here at the European Parliament, we have more groups, so we don't just have two political groups like in America. It's different for us.
“Also, we have to take into account upcoming elections. Let's see what the composition of the next Parliament is."
Should other politicians not advocate for UAP transparency, another route is for the European Commission, following Guerreiro’s representations, driving forward UAP provisions.
With the militarization of space and growing global threats, Guerreiro hopes he will provide a positive legacy.
If successful, he will be remembered as the politician who kickstarted the UAP debate within the EU.
And if some UAP represents non-human technology, then his legacy may be even more memorable. Remarking on the possibility of UAP representing non-human intelligence Guerreiro says:
“This may open doors to our understanding of what it is to be human and our place in the universe.”