N° 51–2025: Media Invitation: Stati Generali on Defence, Space and Cybersecurity

This high-level event will bring together European and national institutions, defence and space industry leaders, and international organisations to address the challenges of strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy in defence, space and cybersecurity.

Media representatives are invited to attend the event and to take the opportunity to book interviews.

Programme highlights

09.00 Registration and welcome coffee

09.30 Welcome Address - Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN.

09.35 Istitutional Greetings:

• Roberta Angelilli, Vice-President of the Lazio Region
• Carlo Corazza, Head of the European Parliament Office in Italy
• Claudio Casini, Head of the European Commission in Italy

09:45 Opening Remarks: 

• Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space
• Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency

10:25 Analysis of European policy - Bruno Vespa Journalist and television presenter

10:30 Towards a common defence: the European Strategy

Opening remarks: 

• Matteo Perego di Cremnago, Undersecretary of State for Defence
• Antonella Sberna, Vice-President of the European Parliament
• Ammiraglio Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chairman of the NATO Military

Speakers:

• Antonio Conserva, Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force
• Salvatore De Meo, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the EU-NATO
• Delegation
• Nicola Procaccini, Member of the European Parliament, Co-Chair of the ECR Group
• Nicola Zingaretti, Member of the European Parliament, Head of the PD Delegation
• Roberto Cingolani, CEO Leonardo
• Alessandro Ercolani, CEO Rheinmetall
• Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO Fincantieri
• Domitilla Benigni, CEO & COO Elt Group
• Giuseppe Cossiga, President AIAD
• Michele Valensise, President IAI

12:00 Strengthening European security and strategic autonomy: the role of space

Opening remarks

• Adolfo Urso, Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy

Speakers:

• Giorgio Gori, Member of the European Parliament, Vice-Chair of the ITRE Committee
• Teodoro Valente, President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI)
• Elena Donazzan, Member of the European Parliament, Vice-Chair of the ITRE
• Committee
• Giampiero Di Paolo, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia
• Paolo Borchia, Member of the European Parliament, Head of the Lega Delegation, ITRE
• Committee
• Tomasz Husak, Adviser for relations with EUSPA and ESA in DG DEFIS
• Giulio Ranzo, CEO of AVIO
• Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN (ESA)
• Giorgio Marsiaj, Aerospace Delegate, Confindustria
• Gérard Lefloure, Chief Technical Officer - Dassault Aviation
• Gabriele Pieralli, CEO of Telespazio

13.00 Photo-opportunity

13.15 Networking lunch

14.30 - 15.15 - Side Event - Lazio as the European Aerospace Hub: Innovation, Investments, Industrial Supply Chains

15:30 Hybrid warfare and cybersecurity: defending liberal democracies

Opening session:

• Matteo Piantedosi, Minister of the Interior
• Roberto Viola, Director-General - Directorate-General for Communications Networks
• Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) - European Commission
• Antonella Polimeni, Rector of Sapienza University

Speakers:

• Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the Delegation for relations with
• the United States - co-rapporteur of the A.I. Act
• Hans de Vries, Chief Cybersecurity and Operations Officer (COO) - ENISA
• Bruno Frattasi, Director General of Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency
• Vittorio Rizzi, Director General of the Department of Information for Security
• Andrea Gabardo, Executive Vicepresident - Engineering
• Alessandra Michelini, General Manager Telsy SpA
• Antonio Amati, Deputy CEO Divisione IT - Almaviva

16.45 Photo opportunity

Further Information

Where:

ESA-ESRIN
Largo Galileo Galilei 1
00044 Frascati (Rome), Italy

Registration and contacts

To attend this event, please register via the Media form – ESA forms by 8 September 2025.  

Due to limited space, ESA cannot guarantee participation for all interested media. 

Contact 

ESA Newsroom and Media Relations 

Email: media@esa.int 

Roberta Stazi roberta.stazi@ext.esa.int - Media Relations for ESA ESRIN, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia

Images

ESA's Photo Library for Professionals:

https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/

Terms and conditions for using ESA images

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int

Videos

ESA's Video Library for Professionals:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int

Social Media

Follow ESA on:

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Facebook: @EuropeanSpaceAgency 

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About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.  

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.  

ESA has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are Associate Members.  

ESA has established formal cooperation with four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.  

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.  

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int