Programme

The Aviation and Drones sessions will gather user feedback on how the EU Space Programme can better support the future needs of aviation and drones, focusing on operational challenges, new emerging requirements and opportunities for future service evolution. 

Participants will explore the current and future trends on Galileo, EGNOS, SATCOM and Copernicus, highlighting applications in GNSS RFI and Earth Observation. 

The session will also address future aviation concepts such as: U-space, Innovative Air Mobility, European Drone Strategy 2.0 and Higher Airspace Operations, with the objective of identifying user needs that can drive future EU Space service developments.

Improving technology creates new opportunities to simplify EO data access, support more efficient workflows and accelerate the delivery of actionable insights to users. Realising the potential of technological advances, such as AI, at all stages of providing data and services is an ongoing challenge for the evolution of all of the Copernicus programme.

The morning session will examine user experiences with the current Copernicus platforms, access mechanisms and processing environments with the aim to assess where they meet user needs, where gaps remain, and what requirements should guide the future evolution of data and service provision in Copernicus.

Building on these foundations, the afternoon session will explore the capacity/tools linking data/information accessible via the Copernicus data and service portals into high performance processing environments. Facilitating efficient linking of data/information to processing will enable “traditional” data processing, but also emerging approaches to AI-enabled EO data access and processing, including foundation models, EO AI agents and digital assistants capable of supporting users throughout the data discovery, analysis and decision-making workflow. Discussions will examine how these capabilities can enhance the discovery, access and use of EO data, while identifying priorities for a more connected, accessible and future-ready European EO data ecosystem.

Coming Soon

This session will focus on the value of EU Space services and data (GNSS12within the EU Border and Internal Security (EUBIS) market segment. In particular, in order to follow-up the outcomes of last year’s UCP process, UCP 2026 deeps dive on the value of EU Space services and data in four selected applications, related to digitalisation in Customs operations, to the electronic freight transport information Regulation³.

Conceived as a Think Tank, the session consists of two panels addressing the potential of GNSS and EO in the four applications from different perspectives, namely regulatory, policy, operations, technology. On the one hand, the Think Tank explores if the present trend towards digitalization represents an opportunity for a wider adoption of EU Space services and data in the Customs and freight transport sectors. On the other hand, the Think Tank analyses the role of the integration with GNSS and secure SATCOM services to support evidence protocols still hindering the admissibility of EO imagery as acceptable proof in forensics to prosecute criminals in court.

The debate involving keynote speakers and the attendees intends to capture possible ideas and inputs, to formulate concrete actions for a step further.

Tourism and cultural heritage are under converging pressure: climate change, unbalanced visitor flows and overtourism, and growing regulatory demands to monitor environmental and biodiversity impacts. EU Space responds directly to these challenges.

This Tourism & Cultural Heritage session will consult the community on user needs and requirements for sustainable tourism and for the protection, management and valorisation of cultural heritage.

The first half of the session will focus on the Copernicus World Heritage Hub, the newly launched online platform that provides free and open access to satellite Earth observation data to help monitor, protect, and manage cultural and natural heritage sites worldwide. In the second half of the session, tourism, travel and hospitality stakeholders will discuss how EU Space data are supporting a sector under growing pressure while providing innovative services which enhance travel experiences.

Participants will validate requirements, identify adoption barriers and flag remaining service and research gaps, sharing their feedback directly with EUSPA to shape the future of EU Space services.

The Session on Fisheries and Aquaculture will focus on exploring the needs along the value chain of the sector in relation to the services and products that may benefit from the use of EU Space data together with other services (e.g. Copernicus/EMODnet, Galileo and EGNOS) for fishing and farming related operations. The main objective of the session is to gather relevant stakeholders’ feedback, needs, and requirements so that to define an action plan for the following 2 years to cover the gaps identified.