French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Europe to strengthen its space industry on Thursday, the second day of the international space summit, co-hosted by France and Germany, at Paris’ Grand Palais.
Speaking at the summit, Macron described Europe’s space sector as “fragile” and emphasised the need to bolster its capabilities, calling for “shared governance” of the industry.
“Outer space remains the only major global commons that is not subject to regulations that match the stakes,” he said. “Shared governance is necessary to address these challenges.”
Macron reiterated that more than 51 deals are set to be signed over the course of the summit, with some €20 billion of investments.
Meanwhile, von der Leyen stressed the importance of Europe stepping up, as she emphasised the crucial role space plays both in terms of both scientific exploration, but also defence — pointing to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“The ability to access and act in space not only underpins our prosperity, it increasingly determines our security and independence. Nowhere is this clearer than in Ukraine.”
“Satellite communications keep soldiers connected, while satellite imagery reveal movements hundreds of kilometres away”.”
Europe’s Space push comes amid aim to cut dependence on US
Europe’s push to build up its military space assets has been driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine, as well as its decision to distance itself from its longstanding dependence on the US in the space domain.
Europe has historically invested 0.07% of GDP into space programmes, compared with 0.24% by the US. But 2025 marked a turning point, as the European Space Agency (ESA) approved a record-breaking €22.3 billion budget for its three-year funding cycle (2026–2028) in November, with €35 billion for space for security and defence.
“Security on Earth increasingly depends on our security in space”, said von der Leyen, as she went on to underline the significance of IRIS², the European Union’s upcoming flagship satellite constellation programme.
“Last month, we decided to accelerate the system, by expanding it to more than 350 satellites.”
Von der Leyen also underlined the need for the Commission, the European Space Agency and national governments to “pool” their strengths, while also calling for investment “at scale.”
Macron and Joseph Aschbacher, Director of the European Space Agency (ESA) — who also addressed the summit — were joined for a live call with astronaut Sophie Adenot, who is currently on a nine-month mission aboard the the International Space Station (ISS) named the εpsilon mission.