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Subject matter
This Regulation establishes the Union Secure Connectivity Programme (the ‘Programme’) for the remaining duration of the MFF 2021-2027. It lays down the objectives of the Programme, the budget for the period 2023-2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding, as well as the rules for the implementation of the Programme, taking into account Regulation (EU) 2021/696.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘spacecraft’ means a spacecraft as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696; (2) ‘space debris’ means space debris as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696; (3) ‘payload’ means equipment carried by a spacecraft for the performance of a particular mission in space; (4) ‘ space ecosystem’ means a network of interacting undertakings operating in value chains in the space sector, from the smallest start-ups to the largest undertakings, encompassing the upstream and downstream segments of the space market; (5) ‘European Quantum Communication Infrastructure’ or ‘EuroQCI ’ means an interconnected space, ground and terrestrial infrastructure integrated into the secure connectivity system, using quantum-based technology; (6) ‘GOVSATCOM Hub’ means a GOVSATCOM hub as defined in Article 2, point (23), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696; (7) ‘the Agency’ means the European Union Agency for the Space Programme established by Regulation (EU) 2021/696; (8) ‘EU classified information’ or ‘EUCI’ means EU classified information or EUCI as defined in Article 2, point (25), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696; (9) ‘sensitive non-classified information’ means sensitive non-classified information as defined in Article 2, point (26), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696; (10) ‘blending operation’ means a blending operation as defined in Article 2, point (27), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696.
Programme objectives
1. The general objectives of the Programme shall be to: (a) ensure the provision and long-term availability within the Union’s territory and worldwide uninterrupted access to secure, autonomous, high-quality, reliable and cost-effective satellite governmental communication services to government-authorised users, by establishing a multi-orbital, secure connectivity system under civil control and by supporting the protection of critical infrastructures, within the meaning of Council Directive 2008/114/EC ( 27 ) , situational awareness, external actions, crisis management and applications that are critical for the economy, the environment, security and defence, thereby increasing the resilience and the autonomy of the Union and the Member States, and reinforcing their satellite communication technological and industrial base, while avoiding excessive reliance on non-Union based solutions, in particular for critical infrastructure and access to space; (b) enable the provision of commercial services, or services offered to government-authorised users based on commercial infrastructure at market conditions, by the private sector in accordance with the Union’s applicable competition law, in order to facilitate, inter alia, the further development of worldwide high-speed broadband and seamless connectivity as well as removing communication dead zones and increasing cohesion across Member States’ territories, while bridging the digital divide and contributing, where applicable, to the general objectives referred to in Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972. 2. The specific objectives of the Programme shall be to: (a) complement and integrate the existing and future capacities of the GOVSATCOM component into the secure connectivity system; (b) improve the resilience, security and autonomy of the Union’s and Member States’ communication services; (c) develop further and gradually integrate EuroQCI into the secure connectivity system; (d) ensure the right of use of orbital slots and relevant frequencies; (e) increase the robustness of the Union’s and the Member States’ communication services and the cyber resilience of the Union, by developing redundancy, passive, proactive and reactive cyber protection and operational cybersecurity and protective measures against cyber threats and other measures against electromagnetic threats; (f) enable, where possible, the development of communication and additional non-communication services, in particular by improving components of the Union Space Programme, creating synergies between them and expanding their capabilities and services, as well as the development of non-communication services to be provided to Member States, by hosting additional satellite subsystems, including payloads; (g) encourage innovation, efficiency, as well as the development and use of disruptive technologies and innovative business models throughout the European space ecosystem, including New Space actors, new entrants, start-ups and SMEs, in order to strengthen the competitiveness of the Union space sector; (h) improve secure connectivity over geographical areas of strategic interest, such as Africa and the Arctic as well as the Baltic, the Black Sea, Mediterranean regions and the Atlantic; (i) enhance the safety and sustainability of outer space activities, by implementing appropriate measures to ensure and to promote responsible behaviour in space when implementing the Programme, including through seeking to prevent the proliferation of space debris. 3. The prioritisation and development of the additional non-communication services referred to in paragraph 2, point (f), of this Article and their respective funding shall comply with the objectives of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 and shall be examined by the Programme committee meeting in the relevant configuration, as set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/696.
Programme activities
1. The provision of the governmental services referred to in Article 10(1) shall be ensured through the following phased activities, which shall complement and integrate the GOVSATCOM component into the secure connectivity system: (a) the definition, design, development, validation and related deployment activities for the construction of the space and ground infrastructure required for the provision of the first governmental services by 2024; (b) gradual deployment activities to complete the space and ground infrastructure required for the provision of advanced governmental services, in order to meet the needs of government-authorised users as soon as possible, aiming to achieve full operational capability by 2027; (c) the development and deployment of EuroQCI for the purpose of its gradual integration into the secure connectivity system; (d) exploitation activities providing governmental services, comprising the operation, maintenance, continuous improvement and protection of the space and ground infrastructure, including replenishment and obsolescence management; (e) the development of future generations of space and ground infrastructure and the evolution of governmental services. 2. The provision of commercial services shall be ensured by the contractors referred to in Article 19.
Infrastructure of the secure connectivity system
1. The secure connectivity system shall be established by defining, designing, developing, building and operating a multi-orbital connectivity infrastructure, adjusted to the evolution of governmental demand for satellite communications and offering low latency. It shall be modular in order to fulfil the objectives referred to in Article 3 and to establish the service portfolio for governmental services laid down in Article 10(1). It shall complement and integrate the existing and future capacities used in the framework of the GOVSATCOM component. It shall consist of a governmental infrastructure, as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, and a commercial infrastructure, as referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article. 2. The governmental infrastructure of the secure connectivity system shall include all the related ground and space assets which are required for the provision of the governmental services, as laid down in Article 10(1), points (a) and (b), of this Regulation, including the following assets: (a) either satellites or satellite subsystems, including payloads; (b) EuroQCI; (c) infrastructure for monitoring the security of the governmental infrastructure and governmental services; (d) ground infrastructure for the provision of the services to government-authorised users, including the GOVSATCOM ground segment infrastructure, which is to be scaled up, in particular the GOVSATCOM Hubs referred to in Article 67 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696. The governmental infrastructure shall host, where appropriate, additional satellite subsystems, in particular payloads, that may be used as part of the space-based infrastructure of the components of the Union Space Programme referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 under the terms and conditions set out in that Regulation, as well as satellite subsystems used for the provision of non-communication services to Member States. 3. The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, where necessary, measures required to determine the location of the centres belonging to the ground governmental infrastructure, in accordance with the general security requirements referred to in Article 30(3) of this Regulation, following an open and transparent process. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(3) of this Regulation. For the protection of the security interests of the Union and its Member States the centres referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be, where possible, located in the territory of the Member States and governed by a hosting agreement in the form of an administrative agreement between the Union and the Member State concerned. Where it is not possible to locate the centres in the territory of the Member States, the Commission may determine the location of such centres in the territory of members of EFTA which are members of the EEA or in the territory of another third country, subject to a hosting agreement between the Union and the third country concerned concluded in accordance with Article 218 TFEU. Notwithstanding the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the location of the GOVSATCOM Hubs shall be determined in accordance with Article 67(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696. 4. The commercial infrastructure of the secure connectivity system shall include all space and ground assets other than those being part of the governmental infrastructure. The commercial infrastructure shall not impair the performance or security of the governmental infrastructure. The commercial infrastructure and any related risks shall be entirely financed by the contractors referred to in Article 19, in order to fulfil the objective referred to in Article 3(1), point (b). 5. In order to protect the security interests of the Union, the space assets of the governmental infrastructure shall be launched by existing and future service providers, including those using small launchers and microlaunchers, that comply with the eligibility and participation conditions set out in Article 22 and, only in justified exceptional circumstances, from the territory of a third country.
Ownership and use of assets
1. The Union shall be the owner of all tangible and intangible assets which form part of the governmental infrastructure developed under the Programme, as referred to in Articles 5(2) and 19(10), with the exception of the EuroQCI terrestrial infrastructure, which shall be owned by the Member States. To that end, the Commission shall ensure that contracts, agreements and other arrangements concerning activities that may result in the creation or development of such assets contain provisions ensuring the Union’s ownership of those assets. 2. The Commission shall ensure that the Union has the following rights: (a) the right of use of the frequencies required for the transmission of the signals generated by the governmental infrastructure, in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations and the relevant licensing agreements, enabled by the relevant filings for the frequencies provided by the Member States, which remain under the responsibility of the Member States; (b) the right to prioritise the provision of the governmental services over commercial services, in accordance with the terms and conditions to be established in the contracts referred to in Article 19 and by taking into consideration the needs of government-authorised users referred to in Article 12(1). 3. The Commission shall seek to conclude contracts, agreements or other arrangements with third parties, including the contractors referred to in Article 19, with regard to: (a) pre-existing ownership rights in respect of tangible and intangible assets which form part of the governmental infrastructure; (b) the acquisition of the ownership or license rights in respect of other tangible and intangible assets necessary for the implementation of the governmental infrastructure. 4. Where the assets referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 consist of intellectual property rights, the Commission shall manage those rights as effectively as possible, taking into account: (a) the need to protect and give value to the assets; (b) the legitimate interests of all stakeholders concerned; (c) the need to ensure competitive and well-functioning markets and to develop new technologies; (d) the need for the continuity of the services provided by the Programme. 5. The Commission shall, where appropriate, ensure that the relevant contracts, agreements and other arrangements include the possibility of transferring those intellectual property rights to third parties or of granting third-party licences for those rights, including to the creator of the intellectual property, and that such third parties can freely enjoy those rights where necessary for carrying out their tasks under this Regulation.
Actions in support of an innovative and competitive Union space ecosystem
1. In accordance with the objective referred to in Article 3(2), point (g), of this Regulation, the Programme shall support an innovative and competitive Union space ecosystem, including New Space, and in particular the activities set out in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696. 2. The Commission shall stimulate innovation in the Union space ecosystem, including New Space, throughout the duration of the Programme by: (a) establishing criteria for the award of the contracts referred to in Article 19, ensuring the widest participation of start-ups and SMEs from across the Union and along the whole value chain; (b) requiring that the contractors referred to in Article 19 provide a plan to maximise, in accordance with Article 21, the integration of new entrants, start-ups and SMEs from across the Union in the activities under the contracts referred to in Article 19; (c) requiring, through the contracts referred to in Article 19, that new entrants, start-ups, SMEs and mid-cap companies from across the Union are able to deliver their own services to end-users; (d) promoting the use and development of open standards, open source technologies and interoperability in the architecture of the secure connectivity system, in order to allow synergies, optimise costs, improve reliability, foster innovation and reap the benefits of wide competition; (e) promoting the development and production in the Union of critical technologies, which are required to exploit governmental services. 3. The Commission shall also: (a) support the procurement and aggregation of service contracts for the needs of the Programme with the objective of leveraging and stimulating private investments in the long term, including through joint procurement; (b) promote and encourage stronger participation of women and establish equality and inclusion goals in the tender documentation; (c) contribute to the development of advanced skills in space-related fields and to training activities.
Environmental and space sustainability
1. The Programme shall be implemented with a view to ensuring environmental and space sustainability. To that end, the contracts and procedures referred to in Article 19 shall include provisions on: (a) the minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the development, production and deployment of the infrastructure; (b) the establishment of a scheme to offset the remaining greenhouse gas emissions; (c) appropriate measures to reduce visible and invisible radiation pollution caused by spacecraft, and that can hamper astronomical observations or any other type of research and observations; (d) the use of appropriate collision-avoidance technologies for spacecraft; (e) the submission and implementation of a comprehensive mitigation plan regarding space debris before the deployment phase, including orbital positioning data, in order to ensure the avoidance of space debris by the satellites of the constellation. 2. The contracts and procedures referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation shall include an obligation to provide data, in particular ephemeris data and planned manoeuvres, to the entities in charge of producing SST information as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 and SST services as referred to in Article 55 of that Regulation. 3. The Commission shall ensure that a comprehensive database of the Programme’s space assets, containing, in particular, data relating to environmental and space sustainability aspects, is maintained. 4. The Commission shall adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 45, in order to supplement this Regulation by specifying the characteristics of, and establishing the methodology and the processes to maintain and update the database referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article. 5. The scope of delegated acts adopted in accordance with paragraph 4 shall be limited to: (a) the space assets owned by the Union, as referred to in Articles 5(2) and 19(10); (b) the space assets owned by the contractors referred to in Article 19, as referred to in Articles 5(4) and 19(10).
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