The European Space Agency (ESA) and Europe’s space industry work closely to deliver world class achievements in space that serve citizens and strengthen European competitiveness. ESA’s high-level forum with industry on 3 June 2025 brought together senior stakeholders to exchange views and recommendations in preparation for the ESA Council at Ministerial Level in November 2025.
The forum gathered 80 leaders from the European space sector, including representatives from 11 ESA Member State delegations, the European Commission, and ESA Director General and Directors. The event took place at ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, and was invitation only to enable open and direct discussion.
In opening remarks, Dietmar Pilz, Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality and Head of ESTEC, highlighted the importance of innovation, collaboration and sustained investment in research and development. Marco Fuchs, Chairman of Eurospace, and ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher set the scene for discussions on strategic autonomy, resilience and industrial competitiveness.
Representatives from ESA industry fora, Large System Integrator Forum, Midcap Forum, SME Forum and the Young European Enterprises Syndicate for Space, summarised key challenges and proposals. Four roundtable discussions focused on ambition for CM25, strengthening competitiveness, market creation and commercialisation, and ESA transformation, including acceleration and simplification.
Géraldine Naja, Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness
In concluding remarks, Géraldine Naja, Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness, drew together the main messages from the day. She underlined the need for greater stability and predictability to support investment, alongside faster delivery, simpler processes and stronger focus on market creation and commercialisation. She closed by stressing that ESA, industry and Member States shared a common interest in reinforcing European competitiveness and resilience as Europe moved towards CM25 decisions.
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