"We're still on top when it comes to navigation, observation and exploration -- but in other areas we are losing ground," EU defence and space commissioner Andrius Kubilius told a Brussels conference.

"If we do nothing, we risk stagnation, relative decline compared to others, and that's unacceptable."

The EU has a handful of prominent space programmes including the Galileo and Copernicus navigation and observation systems.

And it recently signed a contract to develop the Iris^3 secure space-based communication system aimed at rivalling satellite services like Elon Musk's Starlink.

But Kubilius said Europe risked missing out as the world stands on the cusp of a "space revolution" that could triple the size of the sector in the next decade.

"Who controls space, controls the future -- Europe must maintain leadership in space," he said.

"We cannot leave space to the axis of aggressive authoritarians."

The former Lithuanian prime minister said the EU needed to produce more rockets, increase public spending and overhaul its fragmented market.

To try to remedy this he said Brussels would propose an "EU space law" to create a single market in the sector.

Work would also begin on creating a "long-term vision" for how to make the EU into a leading producer of rockets, he said.

Europe has struggled to find a way to independently launch missions since Russia withdrew its rockets in 2022 over the war in Ukraine.

After four years of delays, the heavy-lift Ariane 6 had its first successful flight in July, followed by the lighter Vega-C last month.

"We should not be dependent on third country rockets," Kubilius said.

"We need our own launchers to get up there. More, better and cheaper."

The commissioner insisted the EU needed to step up in space not just to exploit economic opportunities but to ensure its defences.

Russia's war in Ukraine has shown the importance of gathering intelligence data from space.

"In five years' time Russia could be ready for a confrontation with NATO," Kubilius warned.

"We must use space to defend our countries, our societies, our people here on Earth."