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Official Journal EN
of the European Union L series
2025/469 14.3.2025
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/469
of 12 March 2025
laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of
the Council as regards the selection of the Union space weather service for the space weather event
sub-component of the Union Space Programme
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 2021establishing
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 60(2) thereof,
After consulting the Programme committee established under Article 107(1) of the Regulation (EU) 2021/696,
Whereas:
(1) Risks of extreme and major space weather events may threaten the safety of citizens and disrupt the operations of
space-based and ground-based infrastructure. In response to these risks, the Space Weather Event (‘SWE’) sub-
component has been established as part the Space Situational Awareness component of the Union Space
Programme.
(2) In accordance with Article 60 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, the Commission is to select the SWE services to be
provided at Union level.
(3) Article 60(2), point (b) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 lists the different domains that might be considered for the
Space Weather service, which are the space, transport, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), electric power
grids, and communications. In line with Article 45(2), point (c) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, the Galileo
component of the Union Space Programme will provide space weather information relevant to GNSS, via the GNSS
Service Centre.
(4) In accordance with the contribution agreement between the Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) on
the implementation of parts of the Union Space Programme and Horizon Europe under the Financial Framework
Partnership Agreement, ESA launched a study to assess the needs to each SWE user, the technological readiness of
the services and a risk assessment in accordance with the criteria listed in Article 60(2), point (a). Based on that
assessment, the services that was selected included power systems, telecommunication, and space domains.
Furthermore, the study showed that the space domain service had the most amount of technical mature service
products, and the ability to best reduce the risks linked to extreme space weather events.
(5) Based on this study, the Commission has prioritised the space domain service as best suited to be selected for the
SWE service. Due to budgetary constraints, only one service could be selected.
(6) The SWE risks to the space domain include radiation storms that can damage spacecraft electronics leaving them
unusable in the worst case, and geomagnetic storms that can dramatically increase drag, hereby affecting the
predicted trajectory of space objects, consequently complicating spacecraft operations and Space Traffic
Coordination temporarily. The users of a space domain SWE service should therefore include spacecraft operators,
and Space Traffic Coordination entities, such as Space Surveillance and Tracking entities.
(1) OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 69, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/696/oj.
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/469/oj 1/2EN
OJ L, 14.3.2025
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The space weather event service is the space domain service.
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.
Done at Brussels, 12 March 2025.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYEN
2/2 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/469/oj