WEBVTT

00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:02.332
This is a very special moment.

00:00:02.453 --> 00:00:06.895
First of all, dear Prime Minister,
Dr Robert Golob,

00:00:07.016 --> 00:00:10.801
dear delegates, excellencies,

00:00:11.151 --> 00:00:14.265
I'm very happy to be here
at this very special moment.

00:00:14.386 --> 00:00:18.180
It has been quite
an impressive journey for Slovenia

00:00:18.301 --> 00:00:24.173
since the first cooperation agreement
concluded with ESA 15 years ago.

00:00:24.484 --> 00:00:27.004
As our council chair
just mentioned,

00:00:27.125 --> 00:00:31.048
the last accession to ESA
dates back to 2015.

00:00:31.502 --> 00:00:35.807
This is therefore my very first time
signing such an agreement.

00:00:35.928 --> 00:00:37.795
A very special moment.

00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:47.608
I'm therefore all the more conscious
of the importance of this act

00:00:47.729 --> 00:00:51.029
not only for Slovenia,
but also for ESA,

00:00:51.263 --> 00:00:54.223
which continues to attract
new members

00:00:54.581 --> 00:00:56.990
50 years after its creation.

00:00:57.568 --> 00:01:00.380
This is not least due
to the agency's capacity

00:01:00.501 --> 00:01:04.813
for transformation and reinvention
as it continually adapts

00:01:04.934 --> 00:01:07.235
to the expectations
of its member states

00:01:07.356 --> 00:01:10.774
and the challenges
we all together face.

00:01:10.983 --> 00:01:15.174
Today's signature is testament
to the sustained commitment

00:01:15.295 --> 00:01:20.341
of successive Slovenian governments
to space-related activities

00:01:20.462 --> 00:01:22.062
and to ESA.

00:01:22.267 --> 00:01:25.004
Thank you for that,
dear Prime Minister,

00:01:25.125 --> 00:01:28.193
and very sincere congratulations.

00:01:29.106 --> 00:01:31.740
It is also testament
to the joint effort

00:01:31.861 --> 00:01:34.392
of the Slovenian Space Office

00:01:34.549 --> 00:01:38.707
within the Ministry of Economy,
Tourism and Sport,

00:01:38.873 --> 00:01:42.822
and of the executives
across various directorates.

00:01:42.943 --> 00:01:44.876
My warmest thanks go

00:01:44.997 --> 00:01:49.141
to the Minister and State Secretary
in charge of space matters

00:01:49.262 --> 00:01:52.102
Matjaž Han and Matevž Frangež

00:01:52.909 --> 00:01:56.780
for their strong involvement
together with Tanja Permozer,

00:01:56.901 --> 00:02:01.898
Sabina Koleša, Metka Urbas,
and all their colleagues.

00:02:03.457 --> 00:02:07.906
My gratitude also extends
to the ESA directors,

00:02:08.299 --> 00:02:12.299
in particular
to Eric Morel de Westgaver.

00:02:18.640 --> 00:02:20.440
Who led
the accession negotiations

00:02:20.561 --> 00:02:23.826
together with the external relations
and legal departments,

00:02:23.947 --> 00:02:27.064
and to Géraldine Naja
and her team

00:02:27.490 --> 00:02:30.275
daily supporting
the development of space business

00:02:30.396 --> 00:02:34.082
and requesting
party activities in Slovenia.

00:02:34.784 --> 00:02:36.901
The involvement
of programme directors,

00:02:37.022 --> 00:02:39.300
we have many directors here,

00:02:39.421 --> 00:02:41.391
has also been key to securing

00:02:41.512 --> 00:02:44.234
the successful participation
of Slovenian industry

00:02:44.355 --> 00:02:46.039
in optional programmes today

00:02:46.160 --> 00:02:49.284
and in the science programme
tomorrow.

00:02:50.003 --> 00:02:54.186
Joint efforts have already led to
quite a number of success stories,

00:02:54.307 --> 00:03:00.756
such as Sinergise, Skylabs, Space.si,
Dewesoft, University of Maribor,

00:03:00.877 --> 00:03:04.485
The Jožef Stefan Institute
and Le-Tehnika.

00:03:05.773 --> 00:03:09.403
One of my first visits
as director general

00:03:09.602 --> 00:03:12.303
was to Slovenia
for the opening ceremony

00:03:12.424 --> 00:03:15.352
of the ESA Short Arm
Human Centrifuge

00:03:15.473 --> 00:03:17.950
in the Planica Nordic Centre.

00:03:18.921 --> 00:03:21.109
I was very impressed
by the centre,

00:03:21.230 --> 00:03:25.597
but also
the ski jumping slopes nearby.

00:03:25.718 --> 00:03:29.749
I'm glad that ESA already
has a strong presence in Slovenia.

00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:34.952
I'm looking forward to my next visit
once the accession is effective.

00:03:35.073 --> 00:03:38.618
In the meantime,
congratulations again to you all.

00:03:38.739 --> 00:03:41.954
We're entering a new era
for both ESA and Slovenia

00:03:42.075 --> 00:03:44.989
which will begin
with an eight-year transition period

00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:49.675
as a new member state
to ensure a successful integration.

00:03:49.796 --> 00:03:53.258
You can rely
on the other 22 member states

00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:55.379
and on myself personally

00:03:55.608 --> 00:03:58.358
to be by your side with my teams

00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:01.306
and to support
the space for everyone approach

00:04:01.427 --> 00:04:05.537
advocated for during the Slovenian
presidency of the EU Council.

00:04:05.658 --> 00:04:08.822
Once more, welcome to ESA
and congratulations.

00:04:09.237 --> 00:04:12.404
Director General,
ladies and gentlemen,

00:04:12.525 --> 00:04:17.807
for me it's really an emotional
moment to be here with you.

00:04:18.938 --> 00:04:22.542
My background is in engineering.
So you can understand

00:04:22.663 --> 00:04:26.209
that my favourite fiction
is science fiction.

00:04:26.330 --> 00:04:30.314
This is almost like a dream
come true for me to be here today,

00:04:30.435 --> 00:04:34.393
signing this agreement. Not just
as a prime minister of our nation,

00:04:34.514 --> 00:04:40.472
but also as an enthusiast about
the space and technology in general.

00:04:41.796 --> 00:04:45.206
For that matter, I would like to
express my sincere gratitude

00:04:45.327 --> 00:04:48.197
to both teams,
from ESA on one side,

00:04:48.318 --> 00:04:52.206
and from the Government of Slovenia
on the other side,

00:04:52.327 --> 00:04:56.409
for completing this,
I wouldn't call it the final task,

00:04:56.530 --> 00:04:59.174
but the final preparatory task,

00:04:59.295 --> 00:05:02.774
which means that after this
the real work starts.

00:05:02.895 --> 00:05:04.810
The real work where Slovenia

00:05:04.931 --> 00:05:08.786
as perhaps not the largest
nation on Earth, or the richest,

00:05:08.907 --> 00:05:11.590
but definitely one that
can compete with all of you

00:05:11.711 --> 00:05:13.779
with the craziness of its ideas.

00:05:13.900 --> 00:05:19.470
We will try to contribute
with our knowledge,

00:05:20.278 --> 00:05:21.878
with our experts,

00:05:21.999 --> 00:05:25.385
but sometimes also
with our innovative approaches.

00:05:25.508 --> 00:05:29.191
I certainly believe
that the cooperation

00:05:29.312 --> 00:05:32.897
when it comes to space
is the only way forward.

00:05:33.018 --> 00:05:37.223
I also believe
that within the EU

00:05:37.799 --> 00:05:40.629
there are many initiatives
these days,

00:05:40.750 --> 00:05:44.186
and one of them that I hear
a lot about

00:05:44.415 --> 00:05:46.544
is being globally competitive.

00:05:46.665 --> 00:05:49.087
If you want to really
be globally competitive

00:05:49.208 --> 00:05:51.083
in terms of
our technological progress,

00:05:51.204 --> 00:05:55.766
then the space technology is
absolutely one of the chosen areas.

00:05:55.887 --> 00:05:59.663
I commend all of you
working for ESA

00:05:59.784 --> 00:06:05.054
to be at the front
of the space technology.

00:06:05.675 --> 00:06:10.675
Whenever you will need, now you have
found an ambassador in Brussels

00:06:10.796 --> 00:06:14.920
for anything you may need
in order to support the work of ESA

00:06:15.207 --> 00:06:21.051
even more either by the Commission
or by the other state leaders.

00:06:21.542 --> 00:06:24.789
If you have a problem with any
of your domestic state leaders,

00:06:24.910 --> 00:06:27.185
just tell me. I can fix it.

00:06:27.770 --> 00:06:32.047
Anyway, thanks again
for having us here.

00:06:32.324 --> 00:06:39.732
I'm looking forward to not just
doubling our financial support

00:06:39.903 --> 00:06:43.753
for the membership, but also
increasing the personnel,

00:06:43.874 --> 00:06:49.101
and the ecosystem in general.
Our space ecosystem in the future.

00:06:49.222 --> 00:06:52.825
I'm really looking forward
to doing some good work.

00:06:52.946 --> 00:06:55.980
Not just for Slovenia or ESA,
but for the whole humankind.

00:06:56.101 --> 00:06:59.907
Because that's what working in space
is all about. Thank you again.

00:07:03.803 --> 00:07:05.403
Congratulations.