The European Union Proposal for a Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities

Following a stalemate in the Geneva Conference on Disarmament (CD) regarding both its general agenda and PAROS (the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space) in particular for more than one decade, the European Union has started an initiative of its own to put the topic of security in space back on the agenda of the international fora. It has proposed a “Code of Conduct in Outer Space Activities” (in the following referred to as CoC), a document which was agreed upon by the EU Member States in June 2008. However, how, when and with which content this document will find its way into the CD discussions is still an open question, since the EU is going to hold third-party talks with key-partners in space such as the U.S., Russia and China in late 2008 and 2009.