It now gives me great pleasure to invite the President of the European Commission,

Ursula von der Leyen, onto stage. Madam President, the floor is yours.

Merci Emmanuel pour cette impression fantastic Sophie genially Sampa. Mr.

President, ladies and gentlemen, heads of state and government, fellow leaders,

thank you for bringing us together in this extraordinary grand palais.

It was built at the turn of the last century to showcase the innovations transforming the world.

I can think of a better place to have this summit.

We're discussing the innovations taking place now above us in our orbits.

Because since the turn of this century, space-based capabilities have transformed our daily lives. They connect us across continents. Guide us wherever we go.

And help us understand our nature and how it is changing.

Europe has been at the heart of the transformation.

We see that in the capabilities we've built together.

And in the difference they make in people's lives.

This summer, for example,

As emergency teams across Europe and beyond rush to respond to wildfires. Europe's Copernicus system was there to help.

Our satellites provided near real-time data to track the fires and direct support where it was needed.

They helped identify areas most at risk before the fires broke out,

and this helped us to preposition 800 firefighters in high risk areas,

standing ready to reinforce local teams from the first critical hours. And this is just one example.

In recent weeks,

Copernicus has supported the response to the devastating floods in Nepal.

And every day it allows scientists to track the impact of climate change from the melting ice in the Arctic to the forests of the Amazon. These data are free. And open to the world.

They help us respond to the biggest challenges we share. And Copernicus is not alone.

Galileo is used by more than 4.5 billion devices worldwide. It guides our cars and planes.

It provides the precise timing that our financial systems and for example our electricity grids depend on.

It helps emergency services locate people when every second counts.

Now we're strengthening it further with the constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit.

And from the very start,

cooperation was built into Galileo to work with GPS in order to give users more reliable services.

Galileo and Copernicus are not just for Europe.

They are European investments that have become global public goods,

and we are very, very proud of them.

Ladies and gentlemen, These systems are so deeply woven into our lives.

That it is easy to forget how ambitious they were once they seemed to be built.

When Galileo was first proposed more than 25 years ago,

of course some questioned why Europe needed its own system at all when GPS already existed. But Europe's leaders understood.

That some capabilities are too important to depend on others.

So they chose to build together what no member state could build alone. To think decades ahead. To invest at scale. To act as one Europe. Today Galileo underpins our economy.

And gives Europe the freedom to act independently.

And that same choice is before us again.

Because space is entering a new age, humans are returning to the moon. Satellites are becoming cheaper and more capable.

Artificial intelligence is transforming what we can do with the data gathered in space.

And as Russia's war against Ukraine shows,

What happens in our orbits is ever more central to our security.

Space is again a great frontier for our prosperity,

security, and independence.

And just as the capabilities we depend on today.

Are the results of choices made decades ago.

The choices we make now, today, will shape our place in the space for the decades to come.

The opportunity in front of us is enormous.

The global space economy is expected to almost triple by 2035. From around $630 billion today. To around $1.8 trillion. Europe begins from a position of strength.

We have cutting edge technologies, world leading talent. We've just seen it. And a strong space industrial base. But strength today. Is no guarantee of leadership tomorrow. To remain at the forefront. Europe must act together. Invest that scale.

And turn our market into a competitive advantage.

And let me have a closer look at these three points.

First, indeed we must act as one Europe.

The Commission The European Space Agency and national governments must pool our strength.

Our industries are calling for clear And predictable demand.

To give them the certainty they need to invest in scale.

Nowhere is that clearer than for space transportation. With Ariane 6 and Vega C. Europe has its own launch capabilities. And across our continent.

A new generation of innovative companies are growing. Just this weekend.

A German start-up Backed by €10 million in European Innovation Council funding,

launched the first ever commercial rocket into orbit from continental Europe.

So now we must build on exactly this momentum.

And this is why With the European Space Agency,

we're committed to a new European vision on access to space. To bring together European demand.

And to act as anchor customer for European launches.

This is how we keep a competitive space transport industry in Europe. And keep our independent access to space.

My second point We need investment at scale.

With our Cassini Investment Facility,

we are mobilizing €2 billion in risk capital for European space companies. This is supporting innovation here in Europe.

Be it firms tracking ships that evade conventional systems. Or companies developing reusable spacecraft. To carry cargo into orbit.

And one day perhaps people Our new €5 billion scale up Europe Fund goes further.

It invests in strategic technologies where Europe needs global champions, including space.

Indeed, in our next proposal for Europe's next long term budget,

space is at the heart of the European Competitiveness Fund.

We have proposed €131 billion for defense, security, and space.

Actually this is 5 times the funding available today, so we must maintain our ambition and get this across the line,

because again, the technologies we finance today will determine our competitiveness tomorrow.

And my third point We must turn the scale of Europe into an advantage.

Our companies are no longer competing primarily at national or at European level.

They are competing with companies on a global level.

So our policies need to reflect this new reality. That starts with our single market.

We have proposed a single market in satellite communications. With spectrum assigned at European level.

Our EU Space Act replaces fragmentation with a common European framework for safety,

resilience and sustainability.

So that a European entrepreneur can build and operate from day one on in a market of 450 million customers. And we are updating our competition policy.

We have proposed updated merger guidelines so that they recognize that European companies need scale to invest and compete globally.

This is precisely what Airbus, Tales,

and Leonardo are trying to achieve with their proposed joint venture called Romo.

These are the types of industrial champions we need if Europe is to lead in the space economy of tomorrow.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The ability to access and act in our space not only underpins our prosperity.

It increasingly determines our security and our independence. Nowhere is this clearer than in Ukraine. Satellite communications keep soldiers connected.

While satellite imagery reveals movements hundreds of kilometers away.

And we increasingly see it in our union itself. We see navigation signals. Jammed and spoofed, disrupting civilian aircraft.

Cyber attacks on satellite networks knocking critical infrastructure offline.

And drones hovering over our airspace using technologies dependent on navigation from above. The message is clear.

Our security on Earth increasingly depends on our security in space.

And this is why we're building Iris Square. A multi-orbit constellation for secure communication.

Last month we decided to accelerate the system by expanding it to more than 350 satellites.

This gives additional capacity for defense, security, and emergency services.

The first satellites will launch from 2029 on, and until then.

We are already bringing together existing capacity to provide secure communications.

Because in a crisis,

Europe must have the connectivity and the communication on our own terms.

So ladies and gentlemen, space-based system become increasingly fundamental to our economies. And to our security. And therefore we need to protect them.

And that is the purpose of our European Space shield.

The space shield brings our capabilities together in a comprehensive European system. With better awareness. And greater defenses against jamming and spoofing.

With joint action to fill critical capability gaps. From space-based early warning. To the protection of our satellites.

No member state can build these capabilities on its own, but together. Europe has the scale to do it.

So ladies and gentlemen, I've spoken today about Europe's role in this new space age.

About investing in the capabilities to strengthen our economy and our independence. But independence does not mean isolation. Independence means having a choice.

The orbits above us are a shared resource.

And we have a shared responsibility to protect them.

Actually this is why I welcome the UN Group on Space Situational Awareness established here today. And this is why throughout Space Act.

Europe is working to set strong universal standards for a safe,

secure, and sustainable use of space. Because space belongs to no single country.

Astronauts who returned from the orbit often speak about the humbling experience of seeing our planet from above,

and we just heard it from Sophie.

As Thomas Pesquet put it, if I may cite. Earth is an oasis in the cosmos. End of citation.

A beautiful but fragile home shared by us all.

That view from space should guide us from Copernicus to Galileo,

Europe's greatest achievements, they have been built based on cooperation.

And that is the European way, strong enough. To act independently. But confident enough. To work with others.

Because the greatest possibilities of space will only be realized when we work together.

This is the spirit we bring to this new space age.

Madam President very much and long live Europe. Thank you.