This Decision updates the GOVSATCOM service portfolio and sets rules for Member States and the Commission on sharing capacities or ground infrastructure.
| Official Journal of the European Union | EN L series ---|---|--- * * * | 2025/1211 | 25.6.2025 ---|---|--- COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/1211 of 23 June 2025 amending Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/1054 as regards governmental services of GOVSATCOM 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) and in particular Article 63(3) thereof, Whereas: (1) | Pursuant to Article 63 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, the provision of capacities and services from the Governmental Satellite Communications (‘GOVSATCOM’) component is to be ensured in accordance with GOVSATCOM security requirements. Some of those requirements can only be complied with by governmental services for the sole use of a Member State and provided by systems under the control of Member States. It is therefore important to update the GOVSATCOM service portfolio to clarify the characteristics of the systems providing governmental services. ---|--- (2) | Satellite communication is a finite resource limited by available satellite capacity, frequency and geographical coverage. Under the GOVSATCOM component, these communications are combined using a common Union pool of satellite communication capacities and services. Article 64 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 provides that such capacities and services may be provided by GOVSATCOM participants as referred to in Article 68 of that Regulation and legal persons duly accredited in accordance with the security accreditation procedure referred to in Article 37 of that Regulation. Among GOVSATCOM participants, only Member States can currently provide enhanced and robust services through governmental satellite communication capacities under their control. ---|--- (3) | Following two calls for expression of interest sent to all Member States in 2022 and 2024, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain have proposed governmental satellite communication capacities and Cyprus and Poland have proposed ground infrastructure to populate the common Union pool referred to in Article 62 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696. ---|--- (4) | However, as other Member States may propose additional governmental solutions or could develop new systems in the future, the Commission should regularly review Member States capacities and update the service portfolio of GOVSATCOM for the benefits of its users. ---|--- (5) | Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/1054 (2) should therefore be amended accordingly. ---|--- (6) | The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Programme committee established under Article 107 of the Regulation (EU) 2021/696, ---|--- HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/1054 is amended as follows: 1. | Article 2 is amended as follows: | (a) | in paragraph 1, the introductory wording is replaced by the following: ‘The GOVSATCOM service portfolio shall consist of the following categories of governmental or non-governmental communication services:’; ---|--- (b) | the following paragraph 2a is inserted: ‘2a. The system delivering the governmental services shall comply with the following requirements: | (a) | it is controlled by a Member State and that Member State decides on its main characteristics, supervises its exploitation and determines its users; ---|--- (b) | the governmental services are aimed for the sole use of a Member State or a Member State authority; ---|--- (c) | the governmental services in the common Union pool meet the attributes set out in Annex II for enhanced and robust pooled services.’ ---|--- ; 2. | the following Article 6a is inserted: ‘Article 6a Review of Member States capacities and infrastructure 1\. Taking into account the monitoring of supply and demand for GOVSATCOM referred to in Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, Member States shall inform the Commission, upon its request or at the request of another Member State and within two months of that request, whether they agree to share capacities or ground infrastructure within the framework of GOVSATCOM. 2\. The Commission shall assess the capacities or ground infrastructure referred to in paragraph 1 within six months after receiving a reply from a Member State and proceed with the acquisition procedures, where necessary.’ ---|--- Article 2 This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Done at Brussels, 23 June 2025. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN * * * (1) OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 69, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/696/oj. (2) Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/1054 of 30 May 2023 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the service portfolio for the Governmental Satellite Communications services offered by the system established under the Union Space Programme (OJ L 141, 31.5.2023, p. 49, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2023/1054/oj). * * * ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/1211/oj ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition) * * *