ESA and the EU have long worked together to ensure that European citizens benefit from space. For example, ESA has designed and developed many elements of the EU’s space programme. These include the Galileo navigation system that provides a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control, as well as the Copernicus Earth observation satellites that help people to analyse climate change and how to mitigate its effects. ESA will also play a crucial role in the EU’s Iris² programme for secure connectivity.

Collaboration in such projects relies on the free exchange of information between ESA and the EU, to enable the two organisations to work with each other on sensitive or classified activities that are covered by protective security measures.

Today’s signing amends the existing agreement that was made in 2008 and aligns it with the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement that was concluded between ESA and the EU in 2021.