00:00Now let's reach for the stars. As competition in space intensifies, Europe is looking to secure
00:06its own sovereignty, less dependent on American technology and private players like Elon Musk's
00:12Starlink. Earlier this year, the US doubled down on its iris satellite project, while French
00:19President Emmanuel Macron went a step further, calling for Europe to become a global space power
00:24by 2035. But with Europe still trailing the US and China, can it close the gap? Joining me now in
00:32the
00:32studio is Chaume Sanpera, the CEO of Spanish tech specialist Satelliot. Welcome to the show and
00:40thanks for being here. Thank you very much, Stefan. So your company describes its mission as advancing
00:46Europe's technological independence through sovereign satellite infrastructure. So is Europe
00:52finally waking up to the fact that dependence on foreign technology can become a security risk?
00:59We have not to see it as it can become. It's already happening today in Europe. We are full
01:05dependent on third parties, third countries, and this is something that you have to solve.
01:11Iris Square, it's one of the solutions, but we intend to complement Iris Square with 5G
01:17communications around the world. But isn't there a danger that technologically sovereignty can become
01:23protectionism? Can Europe be sovereign without becoming technologically isolated?
01:32Sovereignty, it's a need. And the standards, it's an open way to work on that. Then we believe that
01:39Europe needs to wake up, needs to have their own solution, and need to offer this solution to the rest
01:46of
01:46the world, you know, not to become dependent on just two blocks. And do you see this happening?
01:52Yes, this is happening. The European industry is waking up, the European industry is advanced. We
01:58have the standards, we have the technology, we have the capability, the industrial base. Why not
02:04could we build up here European champions for the global solution?
02:09And the EU Space Act is supposed to create a single European framework for space activity.
02:18From an industry's perspective, will this reduce fragmentation or just create another layer of
02:25regulation? This will reduce fragmentation with no doubt. The intention of the European
02:30Commission is to have just one framework, you know, that you don't have to go country by country,
02:36having their own permission, their own rules.
02:40And Stalin, the company of Elon Musk, has demonstrated the strategic power of connectivity in
02:48satellite connectivity in Ukraine. Does Europe needs its own equivalent, not just for commercial reasons,
02:56but also for security and defense?
03:00Critical infrastructures of Europe today depends already on space communications, financial
03:06transactions, logistics, defense, security. Then Europe needs to have their own sovereignty
03:12on a space. And this is something that we don't have to say no. We have to go ahead.
03:19And with this, we are going to have power and not just in Europe, but in the rest of the
03:24world.
03:25And on AI, a much debated issue these days everywhere, Europe has built one of the strongest
03:34regulatory framework, but there is now a growing fear that regulation could make Europe
03:41less competitive. Now, has Europe regulated too much too early?
03:47Europe has their own values, and those values have to be present on AI as well as they are on
03:52technologies. We believe that these values are the ones that have to be adopted, not just in Europe,
03:59but also in the rest of the world.
04:00And if there is one task that policy makers, industry, the public administrations need to do
04:10most urgently, what is that in your opinion?
04:14We need to push the European industry in order to become global champions. This is something that
04:22is a real must, and this is exactly the same that is doing China, exactly the same that is doing
04:27the
04:27United States.
04:29China, and we were still behind China and the United States. Is this a gap that we can ever
04:33catch up?
04:34For sure. We have all the elements to be there. I'm absolutely optimistic.
