The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) provides safe and secure European satellite navigation services, advances the commercialization of Galileo, EGNOS, and Copernicus data and services, engages in secure satellite communications (GOVSATCOM & IRIS²), and operates the EUSST Front Desk. EUSPA is also responsible for accrediting the security of all EU Space Programme components. By fostering innovation in the space sector and above and collaborating with the EU Space community, EUSPA contributes to the European Green Deal and digital transition, enhances Union safety and security, and strengthens autonomy and resilience.

The projects under this topic shall aim at identifying and address technological challenges related to the provision of GOVSATCOM services and increasing awareness on the benefits brought by the use of secure services provided by GOVSATCOM and will engage the users, public authorities and policy makers to the maximum extent.

EU contribution per project: of between €3.00 and €4.00 million

• Energy
• Research, Technological Development and Innovation

• Local Authorities
• Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
• State-owned Enterprises

If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, and more particularly, for the reasons of EU strategic autonomy in space and the security and integrity of EU space assets, and in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States and to third countries that have concluded a specific agreement on participation in GOVSATCOM.

For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees approved by the eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.

The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place to ensure that:

1. control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure, facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
2. access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
3. ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible country in which the legal entity is established.

The following additional eligibility criterion applies: at least one public entity must participate as member of the consortium selected for funding as the public entities are the main users of GOVSATCOM.

All applicants, including their subcontractors, must fulfill the above criteria, in order to be eligible. Their eligibility will be checked through Ownership & control assessments which will be carried out by the Central Validation Service.

EUSPA: https://www.euspa.europa.eu/about/contact

E-mail address: com@euspa.europa.eu

• Funding&Tenders