Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES): we care for a safer planet {SEC(2008) 2808} {SEC(2008) 2809}
Date: 2008-11-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, European Environment Agency, environmental policy, environmental protection, observation, space research

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 12.11.2008 
COM(2008) 748 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES):  
we care for a safer planet 

{SEC(2008) 2808} 
{SEC(2008) 2809} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES):  
we care for a safer planet 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In the middle of the 20th century, we saw our planet from space for the first time. From space, 
the  Earth  is  a  small  and  fragile  ball  dominated  not  by  human  activity  but  by  patterns  of 
clouds, oceans greenery and soils1. 

Space systems help us to understand the fragility of our planet. They provide tools to address 
challenges  mankind  faces  in  the  21st  century  such  as  security  threats,  environmental 
degradation and climate change. Earth observation is a powerful advanced technology which 
through space and ground based capacities can monitor the Earth's environment and security 
threats and provide timely and reliable information. Europe has, therefore, decided to develop 
its own operational independent capacity through the Global Monitoring for Environment and 
Security  (GMES)  initiative.  This  decision  reflected  the  growing  responsibility  of  the  EU  in 
European and world affairs. Establishing such a  system  marks  a  strategic choice of the EU, 
with lasting impacts for the further political, economic, social, and scientific development of 
the EU. 

Substantial  work  has  been  undertaken  so  far  to  move  GMES  from  concept  to  reality. 
Recognising  the  importance  of  Earth  observation,  the  Council  endorsed  the  approach2  and 
welcomed the Austrian and German EU Presidency initiatives3 on the future architecture and 
governance  of  GMES  based  on  the  combined  efforts  of  the  European  Space  Agency  (ESA) 
and the European Union (EU). 

GMES has now entered into its pre-operational phase. In 2011 it will be technically feasible 
to move into the operational phase. 

Thus  the  Council  has  recently4  reaffirmed  the  need  to  implement  GMES  rapidly.  It  has 
requested  the  Commission  to  elaborate  an  action  plan  leading  to  the  setting-up  of  an  EU 
programme, aiming at securing the availability of GMES services and of critical observation 
data.  In  that  context,  it  invited5  the  Commission  to  propose,  by  2008,  arrangements  for 
financing, operational infrastructure and effective management of GMES.  

Following  an  intense  consultation  with  main  stakeholders  this  Communication  responds  to 
this  invitation.  Its  main  objective  is  to  establish  a  basis  for  further  discussions  and 
consolidation  of  the  political  consensus  among  the  various  partners  involved  in  order  to 
proceed with implementing actions at a later stage. 

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2 
3 
4 
5 

Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future (A/42/427). 
3rd Space Council orientations. 
Graz Dialogue and Munich Roadmap. 
Council Resolution on "Taking forward the European Space Policy" of 26.9.2008. 
OJ C 136, 20.6.2007, p. 1. 

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2. 

A  USER  DRIVEN  EARTH  OBSERVATION  PROGRAMME:  STATE-OF-PLAY  AND 
FUTURE SHAPE 

GMES  will  deliver  services  of  public  interest.  Examples  include  maps  for  emergency 
operations,  monitoring  of  climate  change  parameters  or  chemical  composition  of  the 
atmosphere.  Substantial  R&D  effort  has  already  been  invested  on  Earth  observation  by  the 
EU,  ESA  and  their  respective  Member  States  to  develop  GMES  infrastructure  and  pre-
operational services. The operational phase needs to be assured. 

GMES consists of the following three components: 

Space 

The GMES Space Component consists of space observation infrastructure addressing service 
data  needs  with  missions  observing  land,  atmospheric  and  oceanographic  parameters.  In 
practice it will rely on: 

•  Existing or planned European space infrastructure mainly satellites of ESA, EUMETSAT 

and Member States6; and 

•  Space infrastructure co-financed by the EU and ESA. 

Within  the  Space  Component,  different  functions  need  to  be  covered  for  all  space 
infrastructure  types  (demonstration  missions,  initial  and  recurrent  elements  of  operational 
missions). Currently, following a gap analysis conducted by ESA, ESA and the EC are jointly 
developing  space  observation  infrastructure  in  the  frame  of  the  ESA  GMES  Space 
Component Programme. This programme aims at developing and implementing a number of 
satellite missions known as “the Sentinels”. 

In situ 

The  GMES  In-Situ  Component  will  rely  on  a  large  number  of  facilities,  instruments  and 
services  owned  and  operated  at  national,  regional  and  intergovernmental  levels  inside  and 
outside the EU. In situ infrastructure provides data to monitor the Earth's oceans, continental 
surfaces and its atmosphere. Examples of such data include the chemistry of the atmosphere 
and air quality, ice cover and soils and geophysical data among others. 

Services 

GMES services are the basis for Europe's autonomy in information provision world-wide. The 
scope  and  delivery  schemes  of  GMES  services  should  be  designed  to  ensure  an  operational 
implementation based on user requirements and  applicable legislation, but might have to  be 
prioritised according to institutional and policy needs. The timely and cost-efficient delivery 
of  information  depends  to  a  large  extent  on  the  successful  implementation  of  the 
Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  the  European  Community  (INSPIRE)  Directive7, 
which  provides  for  the  development  and  exchange  of  data  for  the  implementation  of  EU 

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Including meteorological and national high-resolution and very-high resolution multispectral and radar 
imaging missions. 
Directive 2007/2/EC 

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policies notably in the environmental sector. GMES services will make available products at 
European and global level. 

In  2008  the  preoperational  services  have  been  launched,  paving  the  way  for  the  future 
operation of GMES. The types of GMES services at this stage are: 

•  Marine and Atmosphere Services 

This group includes services for the systematic monitoring and forecasting of the state of the 
Earth’s subsystems state at regional and global levels, using models and methodologies that 
require  large  computing  and  processing  capacities.  These  services  produce  information  for 
monitoring  and  understanding  climate  change  and  may  contribute  towards  improvements  in 
the transport sector and the deeper marine knowledge needed for implementation of the EU's 
new Integrated Maritime Policy8. 

•  Land, Emergency and Security Services 

This  group  includes  geo-information  services  for  land  monitoring,  emergency  response  and 
security applications at national, regional, European and global levels. 

The  development  of  GMES  in  its  initial  phase  has  given  priority  to  the  establishment  of 
services  in  the  area  of  Earth  observation  for  environmental  and  emergency  services.  The 
development of the security services needs now to be accelerated. There is an opportunity to 
add  value  to  an  emerging  European  maritime  surveillance  network  as  a  part  of  the  EU 
Integrated  Maritime  Policy.  This  will  require  close  co-operation  with  and  between  Member 
States and the European Defence Agency. 

Likewise, the Commission will propose an approach for the contribution of GMES to climate 
change monitoring, using elements of its atmosphere, land and marine services. 

Moreover,  GMES  has  the  potential  to  contribute  to  the  proposed  Shared  Environmental 
Information  System  (SEIS)9  aims  at  modernising  and  simplifying  the  collection,  exchange 
and use of the data and information required for environmental policy. In this context, GMES 
has  the  potential  to  improve  the  provision  of  services  both  to  public  policy  makers  and  to 
citizens. 

To  date,  GMES  services  are  incomplete.  They  are  not  yet  fully  and  permanently  globally 
available.  Their  sustainability  is  not  yet  fully  guaranteed.  Therefore  further  investment  is 
necessary  including  in  the  space  infrastructure  to  fill  the  gaps  of  GMES  services  and  to 
guarantee their long-term sustainability and reliability. Moreover a number of very different 
actors  of  varied  institutional  nature  will  have  to  be  brought  permanently  together,  also  to 
ensure  a  proper  representation  of  the  EU  and  ESA  Member  States  and  further  countries 
involved  notably  through  their  participation  in  intergovernmental  organisations.  For  a  cost 
efficient  development  of  GMES  it  is  essential  to  build  the  system  in  a  modular  or  phased 
implementation approach based on available space and ground-based resources. 

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An  Integrated  Maritime  Policy  for  the  European  Union  ("The  Blue  Book"),  Brussels,  10.10.2007, 
COM(2007) 575 final 
COM(2008) 46 final of 1.2.2008 

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3. 

GMES: A PUBLIC INVESTMENT FOR GROWTH 

While  GMES  will  mainly  serve  public  authorities,  it  is  also  creating  opportunities  for 
increased  private  sector  usage  of  information  sources  and  will  also  trigger  partnerships 
between  the  research  and  the  business  community.  Public  investment  will  incite  industry  to 
explore  innovative  ways  of  integrating  observing,  communications  and  information 
technologies and should facilitate market uptake by value-adding service providers, many of 
which  are  small  and  medium  enterprises  (SME).  This,  in  turn,  will  entail  that  as  activities 
become mature and financed by the private sector, public investment will be either gradually 
reduced  or  re-directed  to  less  mature  sectors  depending  on  the  policy  priorities.  Thus,  the 
development  of  market  opportunities  could  eventually  determine  the  proportion  of  public 
investment although this is not likely  to  happen  in  the  short  to  medium  term.  At  any  event, 
GMES is expected to remain primarily a public-driven programme.  

To  achieve  this,  GMES  services  should  be  fully  and  openly  accessible,  as  long  as  EU  and 
Member  States  security  interests  do  not  suggest  otherwise.  This  will  help  to  promote  the 
widest  possible  use  and  sharing  of  Earth  observation  data  and  information  in  line  with  the 
proposed  SEIS  and  in  accordance  with  existing  legislation  such  as  the  INSPIRE  Directive 
taking  into  account  the  Global  Earth  Observation  System  of  Systems  (GEOSS)  principles. 
Finally, GMES will explore synergies with satellite navigation systems, notably Galileo and 
EGNOS, and communication systems to ensure integrated information towards the user. 

4. 

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 

Although  European  autonomy  for  GMES  services  is  essential,  international  cooperation  in 
Earth  observation  remains  imperative  to  fulfil  the  European  need  for  information  at  global 
level  and  to  develop  a  cost  efficient  system.  GMES  cannot  be  successfully  implemented 
without  exchanging  equivalent  observation  data  through  cooperation  schemes,  thereby 
sharing  the  cost  of  observation  infrastructure  with  non-EU  partners.  Further,  only  a 
coordinated  approach  bringing  together  the  main  actors  in  the  world  will  lead  to  effective 
action to counter global environmental threats. In particular, the joint development of shared 
Earth observation tools has led the major actors in the world to recognise the importance and 
impact  of  the  on-going  climate  change  process.  The  Commission  therefore  proposes  to 
establish  an  international  cooperation  strategy  for  GMES.  In  line  with  the  Lisbon  GMES 
process,  in  the  case  of  Africa  this  will  be  drawn  in  partnership  with  the  African  Union 
Commission as part of the joint EU-Africa strategy. 

International  cooperation  should  build  on  existing  cooperation  schemes  developed  by 
European  national  and  intergovernmental  actors  with  international  counterparts,  e.g.  the 
World  Meteorological  Organisation,  and  be  developed  for  new  areas  through  the  Group  on 
Earth Observations (GEO) which is coordinating efforts to build a Global Earth Observation 
System  of  Systems  (GEOSS).  In  the  GEO  process  it  is  important  to  ensure  access  to 
observation  data  not  controlled  by  Europe,  and  to  define  the  European  contribution  to  this 
international endeavour. GMES is also expected to be the main European contribution to the 
global 10-year GEOSS implementation plan. 

5. 

FINANCING GMES  

GMES  is  conceived  as  a  system  of  systems  delivering  services  of  public  interest  and  its 
financing is expected to be mainly public. The common European interest in such a project is 

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clear but the current EU budget does not have the capacity to develop it to its aimed potential. 
Taking into account the financial and staffing constraints of the Commission and the principle 
of cost efficiency, at this stage in its development, the only possible funding approach is to 
develop it in a modular way. This means that every possible expansion in the scope of GMES 
services  that  will  be  considered  and  every  new  evolution  of  GMES  will  be  assessed  with 
transparency against the principles of cost efficiency and user needs, the EU policy interests 
and the ability to provide the appropriate funding and organisational structures. 

There  needs  to  be  a  smooth  transition  between  three  stages,  which  also  feedback  into  each 
other:  demonstration  stage  with  R&D  funding,  pre-operational  stage  with  mixed  R&D  and 
operational funding, operational stage with operational funding  from EU, intergovernmental 
and  national  operational  budgets,  bearing  in  mind  that  R&D  funding  will  continue  to  be 
required during the operational stage to assure the evolution of GMES. 

GMES will be co-financed at European, intergovernmental and national levels. Consequently, 
cost-sharing principles need to be defined together with a cost assessment based on the scope 
of services. The overall financing needs of GMES will be subject to a detailed financial and 
budgetary analysis led by the EU. 

Space 

The Community Programme should contribute to the sustainability of the space infrastructure, 
notably  to  the  in-orbit  availability,  operations  and  replenishment  of  space  infrastructure 
currently being co-financed by ESA and the EC in order to fill infrastructure gaps. It should 
also provide a funding scheme for accessing data from non-ESA developed infrastructure. 

The  Commission  will  assess  the  costs  for  the  Space  Component  on  the  basis  of  the  Space 
Component Long-term Plan coordinated by ESA starting with current service requirements.  

In situ 

The in-situ infrastructure is developed and maintained by Member States and should remain 
their  responsibility.  However,  following  the  approach  taken  for  space  infrastructure  and 
subject to decisions on the size and scope of future EU budgets, the Community Programme 
should  contribute,  where  appropriate,  to  support  the  development  of  in-situ  infrastructure, 
notably  by  encouraging  both  pan-European  and  globally  co-ordinated  data  collection  and 
exchange. The Community Programme should also contribute to co-ordination activities that 
are  necessary  to  ensure  the  availability  of  in  situ  data  for  the  GMES  services.  Where 
appropriate,  it  should  also  put  in  place  accompanying  measures  linked  to,  for  instance,  the 
support of cross-border activities and global networks. 

Services 

It  is  foreseen  that  co-funding  of  operational  services  should  be  ensured  by  the  GMES 
programme.  The  challenge  is  to  consolidate  the  outcome  of  the  massive  investment  already 
made  within  the  EU  research  framework  programme  and  at  national  and  intergovernmental 
levels.  The  various  user  communities  are  expecting  the  EU  to  ensure  the  sustainability  of 
GMES  services  and  to  implement  accompanying  measures  in  support  of  innovation  and 
market uptake in the downstream sector. 

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The costs for the service component will be assessed on the basis of the scope identified by 
the  expert  groups  of  user  communities,  previous  studies  and  on  the  basis  of  the  already 
available pre-operational services10. 

On the basis of precise costs estimates, the Commission will make a legislative proposal for 
defining the EU contribution for the operational phase of GMES for 2011-2013. Subject to a 
budgetary  and  financial  evaluation  and  the  availability  of  the  necessary  funds  and 
organisational  structures,  the  EU  contribution  beyond  2014  should  sustain  the  operations  of 
GMES. 

6. 

SUSTAINING AN EARTH OBSERVATION CAPACITY: GOVERNANCE  

A  large  number  of  players  will  contribute  to  the  implementation  of  GMES  including 
regional11  organisations, 
intergovernmental  agencies,  such  as  ESA,  national  and 
environmental  agencies,  civil  protection  services,  space  agencies,  industry,  and  user 
communities. 

Succeeding with GMES will necessitate the establishment of partnerships among the different 
players  involved  under  the  leadership  of  the  EU.  These  partnerships  should  ensure  the 
integration of existing and new elements, thereby ensuring that decision-making is based on a 
clear  division  of  roles  and  responsibilities,  and  accountability  for  public  expenditure,  while 
fully respecting subsidiarity and ensuring transparency. It should also provide a framework in 
which  Member  States  entering  into  partnerships  with  the  Community  can  ensure  the  long-
term availability of their assets. 

In  these  partnerships  the  European  Commission  should  have  the  overall  political  co-
ordination  of  the  GMES  programme  including  institutional,  EU  budget  and  programme 
management  and  implementation,  contribution  to  market  development  and  international  co-
operation  activities.  On  the  basis  of  the  experience  in  the  implementation  of  GMES, 
alternative organisational arrangements will be examined. 

6.1. 

Technical Implementation 

The  technical  implementation  of  the  programme  should  be  mainly  entrusted  to  European 
entities which interact with public and private actors. 

Space 

The European Space Agency should co-ordinate the implementation of the space component. 

Starting  from  an  analysis  of  space-based  observation  needs  in  response  to  service 
requirements, ESA should ensure for and on behalf of the EC, the long term availability of the 
GMES  Space  Component.  For  all  space  infrastructure  types,  this  will  mainly  consist  of  the 
preparation and consolidation of the Space Component decision-making process, including: 

•  the preparation of a Space Component Implementation Plan; 

10 
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As presented at the 2008 GMES Forum organised by the French Presidency on 16, 17/10/2008, in Lille. 
In  the  Cohesion  Policy,  for  the  period  2007-2013,  the  Commission  has  opened  up  opportunities  to 
Member States and regions to support the implementation of GMES. 

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•  the supervision and monitoring of the implementation of this plan; and 

•  the  coordination  of  R&D  activities  for  the  modernisation  of  observation  infrastructure  in 
support of the evolution of service requirements as approved by GMES governance bodies. 

the  European  Organisation  for 

For  routine  global  observation  of  atmosphere  and  oceans,  ESA  should  ensure  coordination 
with 
the  Exploitation  of  Meteorological  Satellites 
(EUMETSAT), which liaises with the meteorological service providers to compile their space 
observation needs. 

For new space component infrastructure, that might be necessary to fill gaps for the provision 
of  GMES  services,  again  ESA  should  be  assigned  the  role  of  procurement  and,  where 
applicable,  development  agent,  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  EU.  ESA  should  provide  mission 
specifications derived from service requirements and assess their compliance. 

In  the  short-term,  the  following  arrangements12  should  be  made  for  the  operations  of  the 
Sentinel missions co-financed by ESA and the EU: 

•  ESA will operate space infrastructure in support of land and emergency services13, until an 

operator has been selected; 

•  EUMETSAT  will  operate  space  infrastructure  in  support  of  marine  and  atmosphere 
services14. Taking stock of the successful cooperation model between the two organisations 
in support to meteorology, ESA will coordinate with EUMETSAT for the development of 
the ground segment. 

In situ 

Similarly  to  the  Space  Component,  the  main  focus  of  the  implementation  of  the  in  situ 
component  is  to  guarantee  also  in  the  long  term  easy  access  to  data  necessary  to  GMES 
services;  and  the  sustainability  of  in  situ  observation  networks.  Such  data  and  in  situ 
observation  networks  are  currently  mainly  under  control  of  national,  regional  and  local 
authorities and different European networks.  

The  EEA  is  expected  to  play  an  important  role,  in  coordination  with  the  Commission,  in 
relation to the supervision of some services and coordination with user communities under the 
SEIS  umbrella.  Some  specific  coordination  activities  could  be  delegated  to  other  existing 
relevant coordination bodies15. 

Services 

12 
13 

14 

15 

In accordance with technical discussions between ESA and EUMETSAT. 
This includes Sentinels 1 and 2, carrying radar and multispectral imaging sensors, and the land part of 
Sentinel 3. 
This  includes  the  Sentinel  4  and  5  instruments  flying  onboard  EUMETSAT  missions  and  the  marine 
part of Sentinel 3. 
For  instance,  EUMETNET  (the  European  network  of  meteorological  services)  for  meteorological  in-
situ  observation  systems  and  services;  EUROGOOS  (the  European  Association  for  the  Global 
Observing  System);  EUROGEOGRAPHICS  (the  European  association  of  National  Mapping  and 
Cadastral  Agencies)  and  Eurogeosurveys  (the  European  Association  of  Geological  Surveys)  for 
cartography, geology, mapping and reference data; and EMODNET (the European Marine Observation 
and Data Network) for marine data or other bodies under the umbrella of the EU Integrated Maritime 
Policy. 

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To  ensure  the  provision  of  operational  marine  and  atmosphere  services  the  Commission 
suggests establishing a network of technical centres at EU level. In this context, the European 
Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) could be assigned the coordination 
of the Atmosphere network. For the Marine Service, the Commission will first issue calls for 
proposals  to  consolidate  the  network  and  its  coordinator  until  long  term  arrangements  are 
defined. 

Land, emergency and security services should be provided under the control of national and 
regional authorities. Consequently a shared methodology will be needed so that services can 
be  integrated  and  aggregated  at  European  level  following  the  successful  agriculture  model. 
The  Commission  is  ready  to  contribute  to  the  development  of  a  common  methodology  for 
service  delivery  and  aggregation  of  geo-information  products.  In  the  context  of  the 
consolidation of crisis management activities, the Emergency Service will be made available 
to various emergency response actors at EU and Member States levels, including through the 
civil  protection  response  instrument,  humanitarian  aid  interventions  and  crisis  management 
operations. 

Moreover, the Commission will provide technical support to the design and implementation 
of  services  at  EU  and  national  levels  through  its  Joint  Research  Centre  (JRC)  and  Eurostat 
services.  

In  order  to  remain  user-driven,  GMES  needs  to  establish  a  strong  link  with  users  through 
structures that are close to the user communities. Several agencies and bodies established by 
the  EU  will  not  only  be  future  users  of  GMES  services,  but  could  also  contribute  to  the 
aggregation  of  service  requirements  and  service  provision.  For  instance,  the  European 
Environment Agency (EEA), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), the European 
Union  Satellite  Centre  (EUSC),  the  European  Defence  Agency  (EDA)  and  the  European 
the  External  Borders 
Agency  for 
(FRONTEX).  Other  agencies  might  also  be  involved  depending  on  the  needs  and  the 
evolution of GMES services.  

the  Management  of  Operational  Cooperation  at 

In some cases, the mandate and resources of specialised agencies might have to be examined 
to allow a contribution to the GMES services taking into consideration the current discussions 
on the way forward for European agencies16. 

6.2 

Coordination of the Partnership  

The  Commission  will  be  responsible  for  the  overall  co-ordination  of  GMES,  assisted  by  a 
Partners Board and a Programme Committee for the implementation of the EU programme. In 
addition  it  is  suggested  to  foresee  establishing  a  Security  Board  and  a  User  Forum,  which 
should advise the Commission. 

A  process  for  establishing  user  needs  has  been  used  for  the  selection  of  fast  track  and  pilot 
services  and  for  the  development  of  space  observation  infrastructure  by  ESA.  This  process 
should be now formalised with the establishment of the GMES programme. The process will 
include: 

•  definition of user requirements; 

16 

COM(2008) 135 final of 11.3.2008. 

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•  consolidation  of  the  scope  and  content  of  services  and  related  observation  requirements; 

and  

•  definition of related observation infrastructure architecture according to available means. 

All partners should be involved in a structured way in this decision-making process. 

Managing the Partnership 

The Partners Board described above, will be composed of representatives of Member States 
which contribute to GMES with infrastructure. Other relevant organisations should be invited 
as  observers.  The  GMES  Partners  Board  will  be  instrumental  in  the  implementation  and 
future evolution of the programme. Discussions will be prepared at component level (Service, 
In-situ  and  Space  Components)  and  representation  in  the  Board  should  be  organised 
accordingly. 

Implementing the EU Programme  

The Community programme will form the basis of the Community contribution to the GMES 
partnership  and  will  complement  the  actions  of  other  partners.  It  should  be  open  to 
international  agreements  with  non-EU  countries17  with 
the  possibility  of  financial 
contributions. 

The  Commission,  assisted  by  a  Programme  Committee,  will  manage  the  implementation  of 
the GMES Programme. Discussions will be prepared at component level (Service, In-situ and 
Space Components) and representation in the Committee will be organised accordingly. The 
technical implementation will be done as explained in section 6.1. 

Data security 

Effective  handling  of  data  security  within  GMES  must  take  due  account  of  Member  States' 
data  security  requirements  and  would  help  operational  services  fulfil  basic  data  security 
criteria especially for security users, by identifying and mitigating risks such as proliferation 
of data, disclosure of interest or doubts about the reliability of GMES services. 

The corresponding work to provide guidance and input for data security which meets Member 
States  security  requirements  should  be  taken  through  the  Security  Board,  drawing  on  all 
relevant expertise. 

17 

For example, ESA or EUMETSAT Member States not members of the EU. 

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Meeting user requirements 

In addition, to the other elements presented in this Communication, a User Forum should be 
established  to  safeguard  the  user-driven  objective  of  GMES.  The  Forum  will  have  different 
configurations, depending on the services, and will address technical and scientific issues as 
necessary.  The  user  representatives  will  be  selected  on  a  transparent,  objective  and  non-
discriminatory basis, taking into consideration the necessity to avoid conflicts of interest. In 
its management, GMES will also seek synergies with Galileo for what concerns user support. 

7. 

CONCLUSIONS 

In  2009,  the  Commission  will  make  a  legislative  proposal  for  an  EU  Earth  observation 
programme  named  GMES.  Together  with  its  proposal  for  the  GMES  Programme,  the 
Commission  will  examine  the  operational  funding  necessary  for  GMES  during  2011–2013, 
taking  account  of  the  constraints  of  the  existing  EU  budget.  Decisions  on  funding  and 
organisational  arrangements  after  2013  will  have  to  be  determined  as  part  of  the  next 
multiannual financial framework of the EU. 

On the basis of defined cost-sharing principles and a cost assessment based on the scope of 
services the overall financing needs of GMES will be subject to future analysis led by the EU. 

The  Commission  will  co-ordinate  the  management  and  implementation  of  the  GMES 
programme, assisted by a Programme Committee, a Partners Board, a Security Board and a 
User  Forum.  Interim  governance  will  be  proposed  while  this  governance  structure  is  being 
created. 

The Commission will propose a full and open data and information policy for GMES. 

EU instruments in support of competitiveness and innovation should be deployed to stimulate 
the growth of the GMES downstream sector. In particular, due to their importance for job and 
growth creation, GMES services should be considered in the lead market initiative. 

The Commission will propose an international cooperation strategy for GMES. In this context 
the Commission will collaborate with its GEO partners under the agreed terms for GEOSS18 
on  how  to  ensure  or  maintain  access  to  observation  data,  and  to  define  the  European 
contribution to this international endeavour. 

18 

Including the 10-year GEOSS implementation plan and the Cape Town Declaration. 

EN 

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