Eutelsat CEO calls for greater investment scale to strengthen Europe’s space and digital competitiveness
Date: 2025-11-23
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
Eutelsat
Group CEO, Jean-François Fallacher has urged Europe to accelerate investment,
collaboration, and ambition in order to maintain its competitive edge in space
technology, connectivity, AI, and digital infrastructure. His comments followed
a high-level discussion at the Frankfurt European Banking Congress, where
leaders from emerging industries met with investors to examine how Europe can
better position itself in the global innovation race.
Mr.
Fallacher noted that Europe has both the talent and industrial capacity needed
to lead but must focus on scaling solutions to meet rising demand. He
highlighted the success of the OneWeb low Earth orbit constellation—one of only
two fully operational LEO networks globally—as evidence of what long-term
European engineering and investment can achieve. Demand for secure and
resilient European-based connectivity, he said, is rapidly growing across
commercial and government sectors.
According
to Fallacher, Europe must now move with greater speed and alignment to compete
effectively. He emphasized the need for larger pools of capital, stronger
partnerships, and more coordinated ambition. He pointed to initiatives such as
IRIS² as important steps forward, underscoring that progress in the satellite
and digital sectors depends on reducing fragmentation and supporting
responsible risk-taking.
Fallacher
said that a “champion mindset” is essential, driven by technology excellence,
investment, and the ability to scale startups. Reflecting on his engagements in
Frankfurt and within Eutelsat, he expressed confidence that Europe’s engineers
and commercial talent are determined to keep the continent at the forefront of
the global space industry.
