Good afternoon,

Before discussing space, I want to draw attention to historical parallels.

The 19th century was marked by the rise of railways, which transformed into a major industry.

Similarly, the 20th century saw the automobile and aviation industries flourish, creating a demand for established safety standards.

Space exploration mirrors the economic development of frontier territories in the 19th-century United States, beginning with brave explorers, followed by rail expansion, leading to industrial success.

We can predict the 21st century will be the century of space.

This new frontier is poised for a revolution.

Space will soon see substantial growth, with an estimated 50,000 new satellites set to launch in the next decade, increasing active satellites fivefold.

This exponential growth will triple the space economy to $1.8 trillion.

While this development presents opportunities, it also brings new risks and challenges, akin to those faced a century ago with automobiles and aviation.

Firstly, space is becoming crowded.

Along with satellites, there is also space debris—140 million pieces of it—raising collision risks that could disrupt essential services.

It’s time to establish rules for space, similar to those introduced for road safety a century ago.

Secondly, our space market risks fragmentation, preventing us from leveraging our Single Markets potential for global competitiveness, similar to past challenges in our defense industry.

Currently, 12 Member States have their own space laws, creating a complex patchwork of regulations.

This fragmentation harms competitiveness and our future in space, as highlighted by the Draghi report.

We want Europe to harness the potential of the burgeoning space economy.

With the Space Act, we propose a unified set of rules beneficial for space companies, citizens, and Europe as a whole.

This will establish a single market for space services and data.

Today marks a historic moment as the EU Space Act is the first regulation of space activities in the European Union, integrating space into our Single Market.

In the future, space will influence all aspects of our lives.

The Space Act will foster growth in space, translating into job creation on Earth and in space.

It will establish common, stable rules, enhancing the competitiveness of our industry and ensuring a level playing field for all.

The Space Act benefits all companies operating in the single market, whether European or non-European, large or small, with particular support for smaller enterprises.

Addressing the most pressing issues, the Space Act responds to the increasing congestion and contestation in space.

With the rise of space traffic, we lack established traffic rules, making it crucial to implement regulations to prevent damage and protect services.

Moreover, space is contested due to growing threats, including cyber and physical risks.

For instance, Russias first act of aggression before invading Ukraine targeted Viasat’s KA-SAT network.

The Space Act aims to enhance the resilience of our satellites and operations.

This regulation outlines the authorization and registration procedures for space operators and establishes technical rules in three parts to ensure safety and reduce debris.

We propose that satellites de-orbit after 25 years, or one year in very low Earth orbit, along with collision avoidance and traffic rules.

We will assess the environmental impact of space activities and maintain a shared database for evaluations.

In essence, we propose a consistent set of requirements for the single market without adding bureaucratic layers.

Member States will continue to authorize space activities, but authorizations from one state will be recognized across the EU.

The Space Act is designed to be future-proof, favoring no specific technology.

We will give Member States and businesses time to adjust; it will only apply to new authorizations two years after adoption.

Military operations are excluded, with a national security clause included.

Support for smaller companies will be provided through a lighter regulatory regime and assistance with implementation costs.

Today, we also introduce a Commission communication titled ‘A Vision for the European Space Economy.’

Space is vital to our economy, with a loss of around 10% projected without current space services.

The space industry requires a specific EU industrial policy strategy, which this communication outlines with 40 concrete measures.

These measures focus on strengthening our industrial capabilities and addressing the downstream economy, especially in big data.

Copernicus, for example, generates over 300 petabytes of data daily, predominantly utilized by U.S. companies like Google Earth.

The second topic of the communication envisions an increasingly industrialized space frontier over the coming decades.

In-space operations and lunar economy are becoming realities we must prepare for.

We need to establish our ‘railways’ into the space frontier through autonomous transport and launching systems.

Without this, we risk ceding the profitable transformation of the space frontier to others.

Space is the new frontier, where rules are currently lacking.

The time for change has come—the Space Act brings order to this frontier, protecting our assets from damage and attacks while creating a single market for space.

We are also opening up export markets with mutual recognition in Europe and internationally.

The Space Act paves the way for the century of space, transforming the frontier into a mature segment of the Single Market.