The Commission states that Belgium, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Luxembourg’s applications to join the SST Partnership comply with Article 4(3) of Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1205.
| Official Journal of the European Union | EN L series ---|---|--- * * * | 2025/2517 | 19.12.2025 ---|---|--- COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/2517 of 17 December 2025 on the inclusion of additional EU Member States into the Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership (notified under document C(2025) 8684) (only the Bulgarian, French, Lithuanian and Dutch texts are authentic) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013 and (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU (1), Having regard to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1205 of 19 June 2025 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the procedure for inclusion of additional Member States in the Space Surveillance and Tracking partnership (2), and in particular Article 4(4) thereof, Whereas: (1) | Pursuant to Article 57 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, any Member State can participate in the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) partnership provided that it fulfils the criteria set out in that Article. ---|--- (2) | The rules and procedures on the participation of Member States in the SST sub-component, the establishment of the SST partnership and the development of initial key performance indicators are set out in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245 (3). Fifteen Member States were found compliant with the criteria for participation laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/696 as well as with the individual and collective conditions laid down in Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245. Those Member States designated constituting national entities which, collectively, constitute the SST partnership. ---|--- (3) | Other Member States have expressed interest in participating in the SST partnership. The Commission therefore asked, on 10 October 2024, the Programme committee in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) configuration to make their interest in participating in the SST partnership known by 9 December 2024. Several of those Member States declared their interest in participating in the SST partnership. ---|--- (4) | To allow other Member States to participate in the SST partnership, the Commission adopted Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1205 outlining the procedure for the inclusion of additional Member States in the SST partnership. ---|--- (5) | Four Member States, Belgium, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Luxembourg, submitted applications to join the SST partnership. The Commission assessed these applications pursuant to Article 4(3) of Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1205 and deemed them compliant with the criteria set out in Article 57(1), points (a) and (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 as specified by the individual conditions set out in Section 1 of Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245. The SST partnership demonstrated, as part of an architecture study, that the sensors and capabilities proposed by the applicant Member States bring an added value to the SST partnership. ---|--- (6) | In accordance with Article 4(4) of Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1205, the Commission has to notify the applicant Member States, and the constituting national entities designated by the participating Member States, of the outcome of the compliance assessment, ---|--- HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 The applications to join the SST Partnership submitted by Belgium, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Luxembourg to the Commission demonstrate compliance with the provisions outlined in Article 4(3) of Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1205. Article 2 This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Done at Brussels, 17 December 2025. For the Commission Andrius KUBILIUS Member of the Commission * * * (1) OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 69, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/696/oj. (2) OJ L, 2025/1205, 20.6.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/1205/oj. (3) Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245 of 15 July 2022 laying down rules and procedures for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the participation of Member States in the SST sub-component, the establishment of the SST Partnership and the development of the initial key performance indicators (OJ L 190, 19.7.2022, p. 166, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2022/1245/oj). * * * ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/2517/oj ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition) * * *