Washington warns Brussels against restrictions on SpaceX: threat of devastating consequences

European business structures risk suffering a serious blow if Brussels insists on implementing restrictions for American competitors, including Elon Musk's SpaceX. US Ambassador to the European Union Andrew Pazder stated this threat.

Risks for European business

According to the diplomat, if the European Commission continues to implement plans to restrict access for American players to parts of the European market, Washington may take corresponding measures. Pazder emphasised that European companies should consider the possibility of such a reaction, as the consequences for them would be "very devastating" given the scale of the American market.

Struggle for radio frequency spectrum

These warnings came against the backdrop of a European Commission initiative, which this year proposed reserving part of the radio frequency spectrum for European companies. This spectrum allows smartphones to connect directly to satellites. Such a decision would effectively limit the available frequencies for Chinese and American operators, including SpaceX, which operates the Starlink satellite network.

SpaceX has already expressed sharp criticism of the proposed changes. The company warned that this step could worsen the quality of communication in Ukraine, where the Starlink service plays a decisive role in ensuring civil and military communications since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Strategic cooperation against China

European politicians argue their desire to reduce dependence on American technologies due to concerns about the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump's actions and the risks associated with dependence on foreign companies in the critical infrastructure sector.

Meanwhile, Andrew Pazder noted that the US recognises Europe's right to protect confidential state information, but warns against using legislation to give advantages to local companies at the expense of American competitors. The Ambassador expressed doubts about the true objectives of the EU's application of the Digital Markets Act, which is intended to limit the influence of the world's largest technology companies. He questioned whether these actions are aimed at strengthening competition or rather at replenishing Europe's budget, citing multi-billion-dollar fines imposed on American companies.

Instead of limiting the dominance of American corporations, Pazder called on Brussels and Washington to join forces to compete with China in the race to create artificial intelligence. He repeated Donald Trump's view: "the worst thing that can happen is if we lose this race to China".

The diplomat emphasised the need for cooperation between the US and the EU in the field of artificial intelligence and quantum computing development. In his words, the US has the necessary resources to win in these technological races, but a partnership with Europe would significantly facilitate achieving this goal.

European Commission's position

The European Commission stated that their proposal is aimed at stimulating the entry of new suppliers from the EU into the market and diversifying their circle. At the same time, according to Commission representatives, opportunities remain for operators from other countries to operate.