The European Union is facing many challenges: its aging population, the management of the public debt, its energy dependence, the structural weakness of its investment in research and development, global environmental challenges, and a lack of political leadership on the world scene. A sound and ambitious space policy will not be the magic wand to overcome these challenges, but it can certainly give Europe some indispensible tools to operate wisely in an increasingly globalized world and to boost its efforts in research and development.