Signatures : Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrein, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, European Space Agency, UN Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).
We, the representatives of the Member States of the European Union, Copernicus participating States, intergovernmental organisations, space agencies, scientific institutions and international partners, gathered in Paris on the occasion of the International Space Summit of 9–10 September 2026,
Recalling the commitments undertaken under the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals;
Recognising the essential role of Earth observation in advancing our understanding of the planet, protecting the environment, ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources, anticipating and responding to natural disasters, and strengthening resilience to global challenges;
Emphasising that Earth observation data and services have become indispensable tools for evidence-based policymaking, sustainable economic development, civil protection, security, scientific research, innovation, and international cooperation;
Recalling that Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation programme, implemented since 2014 in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), other European institutions and participating states, represents the world’s most comprehensive and advanced civilian Earth observation capability, providing free, full and open access to data and services for the benefit of citizens, public authorities and the scientific community;
Reaffirming that free, full and open access to Earth observation data fosters innovation, scientific cooperation, transparency and informed decision-making in addressing climate, environmental and societal challenges as well as essential support during crises situations
An Unprecedented Scientific and Operational Impact
Recognising the considerable added value generated by Copernicus over the past decade for societies worldwide ; welcoming the contribution of its Sentinel missions as well as its operational services, whose monitoring, mapping and forecasting activities enable more eAective and faster responses to natural disasters and support informed decision-making across all continents in areas such as energy, water resource and environmental management, agriculture, public health, cultural heritage and emergency response;
Emphasising the essential contribution of Copernicus, and its free, full and open data policy to scientific research ; recalling the importance of a programme based on continuity, reliability and long-term consistency in order to provide the reference datasets that are indispensable to global assessment reports such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as well as monitoring of the implementation of multilateral environmental agreement and biodiversity conservation policies;
Recognising that Copernicus now acts as a true multiplier of economic, socioeconomic and security benefits e.g. for health and urban ecosystems, marine and land ecosystems, risk management, civil resilience, food security, agriculture and water management.
Recognising that the proven success and global value of Copernicus require preserving its established governance, operational continuity and user-oriented approach, while further strengthening existing mechanisms for dialogue and co-creation, including the Copernicus User Forum and Copernicus National Collaboration Programmes.
An International Dimension
Recognising the profoundly international dimension of the Copernicus Programme, with partner countries and major multilateral organisations, including the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ; recalling that Copernicus makes an essential contribution to the objectives of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), including through its activities e.g. in the areas of food security, land degradation neutrality and wildfire management;
Considering that only cooperation among institutions can enable the co-development of solutions tailored to the specific needs of Copernicus users in partner countries and developing countries, while addressing the linguistic, technical and institutional barriers to their uptake ; emphasising that the full potential of Copernicus depends on facilitating access to, and promoting the wider use of, the data, services and knowledge;
Recalling the need to protect the radio-frequency spectrum resources essential for Copernicus and Earth Observation services to ensure the continuity and reliability of Copernicus observations ;
Approve the present declaration :
We express our strong support for the Copernicus Programme, convinced that it constitutes a global public good whose continuity is essential to addressing today’s global challenges.
We call on the European Union, the Copernicus Participating States and its partners to :
- position the Copernicus Programme among the highest priorities of the European and international space agenda;
- support the development and deployment of the expansion missions and next generations of Copernicus satellites as well as the Copernicus services, in order to ensure the longterm continuity, reliability and scientific applicability of the data and information essential for long-term climate trend analysis, as well as for ensuring accurate monitoring of the environment and providing support to civil security;
- step up eAorts to promote data exchange and knowledge sharing among Copernicus partners by making full use of existing and future data infrastructures and platforms;
- work towards the recognition of Copernicus as an essential component of the Global Earth Observation System in all relevant multilateral fora;
- ensure that the Copernicus Programme remains open to the participation of trusted partner countries on fair terms.
The present declaration creates no additional financial obligations for the signatory States.
