Sharpening Europe's Eyes in the Sky

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29.08.2024 Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission

HRVP Blog - Tomorrow, I will meet with EU defence ministers to discuss the future of the EU Satellite Centre (in short SatCen). It plays a unique role in Europe's security ecosystem, supplying EU and Member States actors with critical analysis of satellite imagery. To stay at the forefront of geospatial intelligence and meet rising demand, SatCen's resources need to keep pace.

© European Union, 2024

In Torrejón de Ardoz, a small town on the outskirts of Madrid, lies the key to Europe's eyes in the sky: the EU Satellite Centre(SatCen). This facility is the hub for streams of satellite data from commercial operators, such as Airbus or European Space Imaging, as well as from the EU's Copernicus programme, and from government satellites in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Luxembourg. The intelligence produced here is indispensable for EU decision-making, particularly in moments of crisis when accuracy and speed can mean the difference between life and death.

The evacuation of Khartoum in April 2023 illustrates SatCen's critical role. When paramilitary forces seized the Sudanese capital, hundreds of European citizens were suddenly trapped in a city spiralling into armed conflict. The EU Crisis Response Centre immediately turned to SatCen for an analysis of the situation on the ground.

SatCen assessment revealed that the international airport was blocked. When several EU Member States launched evacuation efforts a week later, they did so armed with the latest SatCen-provided maps. These maps identified alternative airports, selected the remaining viable bridges across the Nile, and defined routes for convoys to circumvent roadblocks and hotspots of military activity. Within days, more than a thousand Europeans were safely evacuated - thanks in no small part to the people behind the screens at SatCen.

But SatCen's capabilities extend beyond this single operation. It is monitoring population displacements in Gaza, which is critical to target EU humanitarian assistance. It provides precise and timely battlefield analyses on Ukraine, and supports EU maritime missions, such as Operation Aspides, which protects maritime trade in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks. Frontex also regularly relies on SatCen's expertise to combat human smuggling and drug trafficking at Europe's borders. The Centre also supports the UN in monitoring arms embargoes, as well as inspectors of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Since I took office, demand for SatCen's services has more than doubled, with almost 80% of its products now delivered within 24 hours. This impressive development has been enabled by artificial intelligence tools developed at SatCen, which assist human analysts, enhancing efficiency, quality, and speed. Nevertheless, the exponential rise in demand is increasingly straining SatCen's financial resources and the capacity of its staff. Over the past four years, budget contributions from Member States could not keep pace.

The Centre is also facing growing challenges in obtaining satellite images. Currently, more than 90% of its data comes from commercial satellite operators. Such high reliance on commercial providers bears risks during crises, because in these high-demand periods, commercial providers may prioritise clients willing to pay a higher price for priority access or even exclusive rights to images.

These are among the issues I will address with EU defence ministers tomorrow when we discuss the SatCen Development Plan for the next five years. If we are to remain at the forefront of geospatial intelligence and keep up with rising demand, SatCen's resources must match this ambition. Furthermore, to ensure continued access to the highest quality satellite imagery on the shortest possible notice, we need increased data sharing among EU Member States, as well as with the EU's forthcoming Earth Observation governmental service. And it requires us to realise the ambition of the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defenceand reinforce the EU's role as a global space power with its own cutting-edge space assets.

In the longer term, the EU could also broaden SatCen's mandate. With its extensive archive of spatial images from Ukraine, SatCen could also assist in gathering evidence of war crimes. Additionally, the Centre's capabilities could be harnessed by Europol and other law enforcement agencies in the fight against human trafficking, or in supporting partner countries, such as those in West Africa, in combatting illegal fishing fleets.

SatCen holds a unique position in Europe's security ecosystem. It demonstrates that a more integrated European defence brings benefits for all, providing a wealth of information that few Member States could gather on their own. By investing in and expanding SatCen's capabilities, we can ensure that Europe continues to have autonomous tools to act in times of crisis and keep its citizens safe.