SECURITY OF SYSTEMS AND SERVICES DEPLOYED, UNDER THE EUROPEAN SPACE PROGRAMME

1. This document sets out a proposal to repeal and replace the EU Joint Action Decision 2014/496/CFSP . That Decision set out responsibilities to be exercised by the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to avert a threat to the operation and use of the European Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) service, Galileo , where the operation of the GNSS could affect the security of the European Union or its Member States.
2. This new Decision, if adopted, provides additional detail on how Joint Action procedures would operate, and extends the scope to all components of the EU Space Programme. This means that in addition to applying to Galileo, it would also apply to EGNOS , Copernicus, Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) and Government Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM). This is in keeping with the EU’s proposals for consolidating governance across the components of the EU Space Programme for the period 2021-27, which are currently being discussed and refined in the European Council and Parliament. Further detail on those proposals was provided in EM9898/18.
3. The new draft Decision states that third countries with international agreements granting them access to a component of the EU Space Programme can also have agreements which stipulate how they participate in Joint Action procedures. These would include detail on how participating third countries could be informed of threats to security, and the actions taken by the Council and High Representative to avert/prevent and respond to these threats. This is in line with the approach set out in the previous Decision.