European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Opening remarks by Commissioner Kubilius at the seminar “Securing Europe's Eyes in the Sky: the Security of EU Satellites” Brussels, 1 July 2026 Dear Christophe, Paulius, and Hélder, I thank you for inviting me here today. I will start from an obvious truth: space is a big part of our economy and of our defence. Kill space capabilities - and our daily life will st...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Opening remarks by Commissioner Kubilius at the seminar “Securing Europe's Eyes in the Sky: the Security of EU Satellites” Brussels, 1 July 2026 Dear Christophe, Paulius, and Hélder, I thank you for inviting me here today. I will start from an obvious truth: space is a big part of our economy and of our defence. Kill space capabilities - and our daily life will stop, and our defence will stop. For defence - space is our eyes in the sky, our communication arteries in the sky, and through positioning – our satellites are guiding stars for navigation. The point is: attacks against our satellites by adversaries can blind us, and mute us and disorient us in our defence on the ground. We need to understand the very simple logic of modern warfare. In the case of war there will be no big difference in space, if we compare with the ground. Like in the war on the ground - the main infrastructural assets for economy (energy infrastructure, transport infrastructure) are becoming the main targets for attack by adversaries. The same with defence infrastructure on the ground, weapon systems for defence - they are also the main targets in the case of aggression. There will be no difference with space. We can say - the main infrastructure is changing, that is why the targets are changing. Past wars started with attacks on enemy radar. Today's wars start with attacks on satellites. The Russians started their invasion of Ukraine with a malware attack on the KA SAT satellite system. Which also disrupted satellite services in the European Union. And in the EU we are already under attack. Jamming attacks, interfering with our satellite signals. What does it mean for us? 50,000 flights affected in one year - 2025! In the Baltic: in 2025, a five- fold increase year of radio frequency interference. Russian Luch 1 and Luch 2 satellites have in the past three years performed suspicious proximity operations, near European satellites, where they could steal unencrypted data. Russia has also positioned satellites close to American intelligence satellites. And a few years ago, China used a satellite with a robotic arm to drag a defunct satellite into a graveyard orbit. The potential for harm is obvious. We need to understand: the attacks on space assets will be unavoidable and there will be many more of them, and we need to be ready for that - our structures in space need to be more resilient, and we need to have everything what is needed to defend them: both in space and for space infrastructure on the ground. It will be too late to start to prepare for the attacks, when the attacks happen. There are three groups of threats to space services, that we need to focus on. First: electromagnetic interference. Like jamming and spoofing. These happen most often and are also hardest to attribute to any attacker. They affect all space systems. They can also have natural causes. Like space weather phenomena in the high north. Second: Cyber attacks. These are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence that learns and adapts. In the close future, AI will enable cyber attacks that are so fast, that they will be impossible for humans to counter. Third: Physical threats and proximity threats. Hostile satellites approaching our satellites, to eavesdrop, damage or destroy satellites. Laser beams to blind satellites, or kinetic attacks to damage or destroy satellites. The core strategic problem: it' s often impossible to tell in advance the difference between legitimate in-orbit use, or aggressive intent. The same instruments needed to build an in-orbit economy, can be used for aggressive goals. Rendezvous, docking, proximity navigation. That means there are no simple legal or technical solutions. We need creativity, new and disruptive technologies and methods, to be able to deal with these threats. I will repeat myself - we need to realise: Space is a critical infrastructure – like water works, energy plants, hospitals, harbours and airports. On Earth there is protection in place: police, armies, airforce, air defence and drone defence. We need to answer - how do we defend our critical space infrastructure? First of all, we need to understand - that defence of space assets is based on the same principles as defence of ground assets. In defence the first need is - detection through surveillance or intelligence of what your adversary is planning to do or is doing aggressively against you. Second, you need to strengthen resilience of your infrastructure, that it would be able to withstand possible attacks or quickly to repair the damage of the attack. And you need to have weapons to deter attack or to destroy the attacker. And, third, you need to have mobility infrastructure and transport means to bring your weapons to the frontline. How are and should those principles be implemented in space? Few words on the first topic - on detection capabilities: in the next MFF, we have proposed to reinforce the protection of space assets, through reinforced space situational awareness capacities and through radio frequency interference monitoring. also, to share information on physical threats to satellites we have set up the EU Space Information Sharing and Analysis Centre, where EU space actors can share information on threats, vulnerabilities, and incidents in near real-time. Making sure that no operator stands alone. On second - on resilience of our infrastructure and defence of infrastructure in space: to begin with, we are protecting our communication signals. Govsatcom is a major step forward. Sovereign, encrypted satellite communication for all Member States. That will make it impossible for hostile states to eavesdrop on our signals. Critical for military and civilian use. Govsatcom started operations in January. By 2027 we will expand Govsatcom services with commercial satcom services. Which will provide additional coverage and security. And in the future, IRIS2 will bring secure European connectivity for the entire continent. The European Space Act presents minimum requirements for space operators address vulnerabilities of space missions. We need an ambitious agreement between Parliament and Council. This year we will present an action plan for a European Space Shield. Which will also cover the defence of our satellites. We are now closely discussing this plan with the Member States. We are looking at threat detection, asset protection, rules of engagement. And the potential role of a dedicated protective fleet. Finally it is equally important that we have operational procedures for business continuity in times of crises. In times of war. Our space systems need to be defence ready. And the third topic – the importance of mobility and transportation for defence of space. As you know, we now are discussing the very important regulation on Military Mobility on the ground. Thanks for the ambitious Parliament position. All of us, we understand how important is military mobility for the defence. As John Pershing said, “battles are won by infantry, but wars are won by logistics”. I don't know who will play the infantry role in the defence of space, but it's absolutely clear that victory in the “future space wars” will depend on logistics, which means on mobility, on transportation in space. Which means - on launching, on dynamic micro launching, on ability of ambitious in-space operations. And you know very well what problems in Europe we are facing with our independent launching capabilities. We need to resolve them urgently. This is the must in our preparedness for most extreme contingencies. And final remark - defence cost money. We know that. Defence of space - also cost a lot of money. But non-investment into defence of space - will cost much more. I wish you fruitful negotiations with the Council on ambitious defence and space spending in next MFF. SPEECH/26/1500
Speech Brief