Governmental services
1. Governmental services shall be provided to the Programme participants referred to in Article 11(1), (2) and (3).
2. The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, detailed rules on the provision of governmental services, by taking into account Article 66 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, on the basis of the consolidated demand of current and anticipated needs for the different services as identified together with the Member States, and dynamic allocation of the resources and prioritisation of the governmental services between different Programme participants according to relevance and criticality of the users’ needs and, where appropriate, cost-efficiency.
3. The governmental services referred to in Article 10(1) shall be provided free of charge to government-authorised users.
4. The Commission shall purchase the services referred to in Article 10(2), under market conditions, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Financial Regulation with the objective of guaranteeing the provision of those services to all Member States. The precise capacity and budget allocation for those services shall be determined in the implementing act referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article on the basis of input from the Member States.
5. By way of derogation from paragraph 3 of this Article, the Commission shall, in duly justified cases, where strictly necessary to match supply and demand of governmental services, adopt, by means of implementing acts, a pricing policy, which shall be consistent with the pricing policy referred to in Article 63(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696.
By adopting a pricing policy, the Commission shall ensure that the provision of the governmental services does not distort competition, that there is no shortage of the governmental services and that the price identified will not result in an overcompensation of the contractors referred to in Article 19.
6. The implementing acts referred to in paragraphs 2 and 5 of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(3).
7. The gradual provision of governmental services shall be ensured as laid down in the service portfolio referred to in Article 10(1), subject to the availability of the infrastructure of the secure connectivity system, following the implementation of the activities set out in Article 4(1), points (a) and (b), and building on and leveraging existing services and capabilities as appropriate.
8. Equal treatment of the Member States shall be ensured when providing governmental services in accordance with their needs as referred to in Article 25(7).
Service portfolio for governmental services
1. The service portfolio for governmental services shall be established in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article. It shall comprise at least the following categories of service and shall complement the portfolio of GOVSATCOM services referred to in Article 63(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696:
(a)
services restricted to government-authorised users based on governmental infrastructure, which require a high level of security and which are not suitable for services referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, such as robust worldwide low-latency service or robust space data relay;
(b)
quantum communication services, such as QKD services.
2. The service portfolio for governmental services shall also comprise services to government-authorised users based on the commercial infrastructure, such as assured worldwide low latency service or worldwide narrowband service.
3. The service portfolio for the governmental services shall also comprise the technical specifications for each category of service, such as geographical coverage, frequency, bandwidth, user equipment and security features.
4. The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, the service portfolio for governmental services. Those implementing acts shall be based on the operational requirements referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, on input from the Member States and on the general security requirements referred to in Article 30(3).
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(3).
5. The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, the operational requirements for governmental services, in the form of technical specifications and implementation plans, relating in particular to crisis management, situational awareness, key infrastructure management, including diplomatic and defence communication networks, and other government-authorised users’ needs. Those operational requirements shall be based on the requirements of the Programme users, tailored to cover the confirmed demand, and shall take into account requirements stemming from existing user equipment and networks and operational requirements for GOVSATCOM services adopted in accordance with Article 63(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 47(3) of this Regulation.
6. The terms and conditions for the provision of services, and related risks, provided through the commercial infrastructure shall be determined in the contracts referred to in Article 19.
Programme participants and competent authorities
1. Member States, the Council, the Commission and the EEAS shall be Programme participants insofar as they authorise the users of the governmental services or provide capacities, sites or facilities.
2. Union agencies and bodies may become Programme participants insofar as necessary to fulfil their tasks and in accordance with detailed rules laid down in an administrative arrangement concluded between the agency or body concerned and the Union institution that supervises it.
3. Third countries and international organisations may become Programme participants in accordance with Article 39.
4. Each Programme participant shall designate one competent secure connectivity authority.
Programme participants shall be deemed to comply with the requirement referred to in the first subparagraph if they satisfy both of the following criteria:
(a)
they are also GOVSATCOM participants in accordance with Article 68 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696;
(b)
they have designated a competent authority in accordance with Article 68(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696.
5. The prioritisation of governmental services between the users authorised by each Programme participant shall be determined and implemented by that Programme participant.
6. A competent secure connectivity authority as referred to in paragraph 4 shall ensure that:
(a)
the use of governmental services is in compliance with the general security requirements referred to in Article 30(3);
(b)
the access rights to the governmental services are determined and managed;
(c)
user equipment necessary for the use of the governmental services and associated electronic communication connections and information are used and managed in accordance with the general security requirements referred to in Article 30(3);
(d)
a central point of contact is established to assist as necessary in the reporting of security risks and threats, in particular the detection of potentially harmful electromagnetic interference affecting the services under the Programme.
Users of the governmental services
1. The following entities may be authorised as users of governmental services:
(a)
a Union or Member State public authority or a body entrusted with the exercise of public authority;
(b)
a natural or legal person acting on behalf and under the control of an entity referred to in point (a).
2. The users of governmental services referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be duly authorised by the Programme participants referred to in Article 11 to use the governmental services and shall comply with the general security requirements referred to in Article 30(3).
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
