In 2005, members of a Panel of Experts on Space and Security submitted a report to the EC recommending, among other things, that Europe
develop an independent space surveillance network. Other sources indicated that the Panel members, whose views do not reflect official
EC or EU member state policy, had recommended a single network linking existing ground radars and optical telescopes with other European
systems already in place or under development. Such a network could integrate France's GRAVES and Monge systems with Germany's FGAN
Tracking and Image Radar system, and would require the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, an unmanned spacecraft used to transfer
equipment, food, air, and water to the ISS, to be fitted with technology for space-based surveillance. While the report garnered support from all EU member states, many officials pointed out that the network could be construed as a means of facilitating a missile defense system, which some EU members currently oppose. To examine a scenario for a European civil network for space surveillance, ESA ordered a pre-feasibility study to be conducted by the French aerospace research institute ONERA.

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Collard-Wexler, Simon, Thomas Graham et al. Space Security 2006. Waterloo, Ontario: Space Security Index, July 2006. [ 26 quotes ] [ page 43 ]