Watch the replay of ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher’s opening Remarks of the ‘General Assembly Defence, Space and Cybersecurity’ held in ESA, ESRIN on 12 September 2025.
The European Parliament and the European Commission, in collaboration with ESA, organised the ‘General Assembly Defence, Space and Cybersecurity’ to promote dialogue between European and national decision-makers, and industry representatives in the context of the unprecedented challenges that European Union is facing since the postwar period in an increasingly complex geopolitical context.
For this reason, Europe must work to strengthen its strategic autonomy in key sectors such as space, cybersecurity, and defence, within the broader context of the Atlantic Alliance. Acting at the European level in these areas, as demonstrated by projects like Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus, brings extraordinary added value in terms of innovation, industrial competitiveness, economies of scale, and spending efficiency, as well as for the security of citizens and the protection of critical infrastructure.
Access the text of the opening remarks.