Magda Cocco, Head of Practice Partner Information, Communication & Technology, and Helena Correia Mendonça, Principal Consultant in the same area, give an interview to Jornal de Negócios about VdA’s role in the space sector, examining the challenges and opportunities facing Portugal amid rapid growth in the space economy.
VdA lawyers explain how the firm’s focus on this area emerged naturally and evolved alongside the sector’s technological and strategic development. ‘It was a natural consequence of the work we were already carrying out: I was working mainly in electronic communications, and the satellite communications had - and continues to have - a central role in the space sector’, says Helena Correia Mendonça. She adds that the complementarity of expertise was decisive for VdA’s positioning in this field. Magda Cocco notes that, even at that time, ‘it was already clear that the space sector was expanding rapidly’, driven by privatisation, commercialisation and growing interest from non-traditional space-faring countries.
After more than a decade dedicated to the Portuguese space sector, their assessment is clearly positive. ‘We have had the opportunity to work on a wide range of diverse and ambitious projects, for both the public and private sectors,’ says Magda Cocco, highlighting the firm’s involvement in national space strategies, legislation and projects developed with the European Space Agency. She adds that it is ‘very rewarding to see the sector’s growth and the increasing recognition of the role of data and space technologies across society’, noting a significant shift compared with ten years ago.
The interview also looks ahead to a future shaped by technological innovation, new legislation and increasingly complex regulatory challenges. Helena Correia Mendonça warns that the outlook ‘points to an even more promising future — but also a very challenging one’, as issues such as cybersecurity, sustainability, export controls and data use become central. The two lawyers also discuss the impact of the proposed new European Space Law and the digital legislative package. Magda Cocco notes that these initiatives may increase companies’ compliance costs, while Helena Correia Mendonça highlights that the Artificial Intelligence Regulation introduces ‘innovative requirements for those who develop and use certain AI systems and models’, reinforcing the need for case-by-case analysis.
The interview also highlights VdA’s contribution to the Earth Observation Guide, developed in partnership with several entities, as a tool to support understanding of the legal, economic and strategic challenges of the space sector in Portugal.
- Read the full interview here.
