The European Union Satellite Centre (EU SatCen; previously EUSC) is the
agency of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
(EU) that supports the EU's decision-making in the field of the
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), including crisis management missions and operations, by providing products and services resulting from the exploitation of relevant space assets and collateral data, including satellite and aerial imagery, and related services. SatCen is headquartered in the
Torrejón Air Base
Torrejón Air Base (Base Aérea de Torrejón de Ardoz) is both a major Spanish Air and Space Force base and the co-located Madrid–Torrejón Airport, a secondary civilian airport for the city and metropolitan area of Madrid, east-northeast of t ...
, located in the Spanish
municipality of the same name, in the vicinity of
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
.
The staff of the centre, headed by Director Sorin Dumitru Ducaru, consists of experienced image analysts, geospatial specialists and supporting personnel, recruited from EU Member States. In addition, experts seconded from Member States work at the SatCen for periods ranging from six months to three years, and temporary staff are recruited as needed. SatCen assures technical development activities in direct support to its operational activities, as well as specialised training for image analysts.
The SatCen was initially founded in 1992 as the Western European Union Satellite Centre. It was incorporated as an EU agency on 1 January 2002. In June 2014, a new Council Decision replaced the former Council Joint Action of 2001 to modify SatCen's mission, aligning it with the evolution of the user demand and the developments of the EU's space activities relevant to CFSP (ref. 1), making it an essential interface with the European Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT, ref. 2) community.
Production and users
In 2015, SatCen provided 1348 products for the benefit of a large community of users, such as the
European External Action Service
The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is al ...
in general, but especially the EU Military Staff, the EU Intelligence Analysis Centre and the
Civil Planning and Conduct Capability, as well as EU
member states and international organisations.
See also
*
Common Security and Defence Policy
*
European External Action Service
The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is al ...
*
Military of the European Union
The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
The CSDP involves the depl ...
*
European Union Institute for Security Studies
The European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) is a Paris-based agency of the European Union (EU) within the realm of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The EUISS is an autonomous agency with full intellectual freedom and res ...
*
European Defence Agency
The European Defence Agency (EDA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) that promotes and facilitates integration between member states within the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The EDA is headed by the High Representative ...
*
Western European Union
The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...
*
Joint European Union Intelligence School The Joint European Union Intelligence School (JEIS) is a project of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) that was announced in November 2018. The project will be led by Cyprus and Greece. The school will provide education and training in in ...
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
External links
June 2014 Council DecisionAbout GEOINTEU Satellite Centre Annual Report 2015EU SatCen websiteCSDP structure, instruments, and agencies EEAS website
Satellite Centre
2002 establishments in Spain
2002 in the European Union
Government agencies established in 2002
International organisations based in the Community of Madrid
Torrejón de Ardoz
{{EU-stub