Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1205 of 19 June 2025 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the procedure for inclusion of additional Member States in the Space Surveillance and Tracking partnership
Date: 2025-06-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, application of EU law, extra-atmospheric space, space policy, use of outer space




L_202501205EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2025/1205


20.6.2025







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/1205
of 19 June 2025
         
laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the procedure for inclusion of additional Member States in the Space Surveillance and Tracking partnership


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013 and (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU (1), and in particular Article 58(8) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Pursuant to Article 57 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, any Member State can participate in the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) partnership provided that it fulfils the criteria set out in that Article.












(2)


The rules and procedures on the participation of Member States in the SST sub-component, the establishment of the SST partnership and the development of initial key performance indicators are set out in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245 (2). Fifteen Member States were found compliant with the criteria for participation laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/696 as well as with the individual and collective conditions laid down in Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245. Those Member States designated constituting national entities which, collectively, constitute the SST partnership, and signed, on 11 November 2022, the Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership Agreement (the ‘SST Partnership Agreement’), which lays down the rules and mechanisms for their cooperation. They also signed, on 11 July 2023, Implementing Arrangements with the SST Front Desk related to the space surveillance and tracking cooperation (the ‘Implementing Arrangements’) and, on 13 July 2023, the Agreement on rights and obligations in relation to intellectual property rights (the ‘IPR Agreement’).












(3)


Other Member States have expressed interest in participating in the SST partnership. The Commission therefore asked, on 10 October 2024, the Programme committee in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) configuration to make their interest in participating in the SST partnership known by 9 December 2024. Several of those Member States declared their interest in participating in the SST partnership.












(4)


To allow other Member States to participate in the SST partnership, it is necessary to lay down further rules for the submission of their applications and for the verification of their compliance with the criteria for participation laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/696 as specified by the individual conditions laid down in Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245. In order to prepare their application and to make sure that their contribution to the SST partnership takes sufficiently account of, and builds on, the achievements made by the SST partnership so far, those other Member States should have access to existing agreements and arrangements and, if necessary, any other documents that are accessible to SST partnership members.












(5)


Where Member States propose sensors for the SST partnership, an architecture study, as referred to under the collective conditions laid down in Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245, should be required to demonstrate the added value of those sensors to the existing SST partnership.












(6)


To allow applicant Member States to participate in the next Grant Agreement to be concluded between the SST partnership and the Commission before the publication of the next grant between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, a deadline should be provided for the applicant Member States to submit their applications.












(7)


The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Programme committee in SSA configuration referred to in Article 107(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696.












(8)


This Decision should enter into force as soon as possible to allow sufficient time to process the applications and prepare the next Grant Agreement with a view to ensuring the uninterrupted provision of EU SST services,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1

Subject matter

This Decision lays down the procedure for the participation of additional Member States in the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) partnership.


Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions apply:






(1)


‘SST partnership’ means the partnership of designated constituting national entities created by the SST partnership agreement referred to in Article 58(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696;










(2)


‘participating Member State’ means any Member State that is participating in the SST partnership.






Article 3

Application


1.   A Member State which is not a participating Member State may apply to participate in the SST partnership by submitting an individual application to the Commission in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 6 (‘the applicant Member State’).
The SST partnership shall grant Member States having declared their interest in joining the SST partnership access to existing agreements and arrangements and, if necessary, any other documents that are accessible to SST partnership members.


2.   An applicant Member State shall designate a constituting national entity established on its territory to represent it. The entity shall be a Member State public authority or a body entrusted with the exercise of such public authority.


3.   An applicant Member State shall submit an application containing the following:






(a)


the name and contact details of the constituting national entity designated in accordance with paragraph 2;










(b)


information on the ownership of, or access to, either adequate SST sensors available for the SST sub-component and human resources to operate them, or adequate operational analysis and data processing capabilities specifically designed for SST and available for the SST sub-component, and an initial security risk assessment of each SST sensor and data processing capability performed and validated by the applicant Member State demonstrating compliance with the criteria set out in Article 57(1), first subparagraph, points (a) and (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 as specified by the individual conditions set out in Section 1 of Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245;










(c)


where the applicant Member State proposes sensors as part of its application, an architecture study as referred to under collective conditions, as set out in Section 2.2 of Annex III to Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245 analysing the added value of the sensors proposed by the applicant Member State for the SST partnership, prepared by the applicant Member State and the SST partnership.






4.   Where an application contains classified information, Council Decision 2013/488/EU (3) shall apply. An applicant Member State shall not include in an application classified information that exceeds the classification RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED.
Applications shall contain an executive summary which is not to include any classified information.


5.   Applications shall be submitted in an electronic format at the latest 15 calendar days after the notification of this Decision by 17:00 Brussels time via email to DEFIS-SST@ec.europa.eu. In exceptional circumstances, upon reasoned request by the applicant Member State, the Commission may grant a prolongation of that deadline by a maximum of five calendar days.


6.   One set of a hard copy version of each application shall be sent to the following address as soon as possible after the submission of an application in accordance with paragraph 5:





European Commission




DG for Defence Industry and Space




Unit C.1 Secure Connectivity and Space Surveillance




BREY 07/080




Avenue d’Auderghem 45




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË







Article 4

Compliance assessment


1.   The Commission shall assess the application.


2.   During the assessment of the application, the Commission may send questions and comments on the application to the designated constituting national entity of the applicant Member State referred to in Article 3(3), point (a). The applicant Member State shall reply within four weeks and, if appropriate, update its application.


3.   The Commission shall assess whether:






(a)


the applicant Member State has demonstrated compliance with the criteria set out in Article 57(1), points (a) and (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 as specified by the individual conditions set out in Section 1 of Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245;










(b)


where the applicant Member State proposes sensors as part of its application, the SST partnership demonstrates, as part of the architecture study, that the sensors proposed by the applicant Member State bring an added value to the SST partnership.






4.   The Commission shall notify the applicant Member State, and the constituting national entities designated by the participating Member States, of the outcome of the compliance assessment.



Article 5

Final acceptance


1.   Once the Commission has found the application to be compliant in accordance with Article 4, the applicant Member State shall send to the Commission the signed copies of the SST Partnership Agreement, Intellectual Property Rights Agreement and Implementing Arrangements with the SST Front Desk.


2.   The Commission shall publish on its website an updated list of participating Member States.



Article 6

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.




Done at Brussels, 19 June 2025.


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 69, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/696/oj.

(2)  Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1245 of 15 July 2022 laying down rules and procedures for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the participation of Member States in the SST sub-component, the establishment of the SST Partnership and the development of the initial key performance indicators (OJ L 190, 19.7.2022, p. 166, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2022/1245/oj).

(3)  Council Decision 2013/488/EU of 23 September 2013 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information (OJ L 274, 15.10.2013, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2013/488/oj).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/1205/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)