(1)

Article 47 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 provides that the Commission is to have overall responsibility for the Galileo programme and grants it implementing powers to determine the location of the ground-based infrastructure of the system under this programme and ensures that it functions. This infrastructure comprises ground-based centres and stations.

(2)

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/413 (2), provides in its Annex an exhaustive list of ground-based centres and of remote sites; Galileo Sensor Stations (GSS), Uplink Stations (ULS), Telemetry and Telecommand (TTC), Search and Rescue (SAR) and GNSS Service Centre (GSC).

(3)

In 2017, the TTC station in Papeete (French Polynesia) was deployed.

(4)

To facilitate the improved operation of the system, additional GSS stations should be established.

(5)

The selection of a location for the replacement of Ascension GSS station was subject to an open and transparent procedure. Firstly, the preliminary identification of suitable sites led to selecting applications from France and the Netherlands. Subsequently, to decide between those two applications, the two Member States were invited to submit detailed proposals. Finally, after an evaluation of those proposals against criteria relating to safety, risks, timing and costs by a committee composed of representatives of the Commission, the European Space Agency and the European GNSS Agency, the Netherlands’ proposal was found to be the most suitable since the architecture and design of the building on the Bonaire site had been entirely optimised to ensure the logistics of the system under the Galileo programme. The centre is due to be set up in last quarter of 2024 and should be subject to an agreement with the Netherlands.

(6)

In 2020, due to the identification of the need to have at least six operational TTCs to support the constellation in the perspective of planned future developments, it was decided to launch the procedure of inviting the Member States to provide their proposals by expressions of interest for the provision of a potential location for the installation of an additional TTC station. The selection was subject to an open and transparent procedure in four stages: expression of interest by Member States, launch of invitation to tender, selection board procedure, signature of contract. The procedure led to selecting Italy’s proposal to install the additional TTC station in Fucino.

(7)

In 2020, the GSS station in Wallis (Wallis and Futuna) was deployed.

(8)

In 2021, the deployment of a MEOLUT SAR station in La Réunion was finalised.

(9)

In 2022 the need for a redundant Galileo Service Center and SAR Service Center was identified, and the already selected SAR service center in Toulouse (France) and GNSS Service Center in Madrid (Spain) were assigned to provide the mutual backup required to ensure the robustness of the services.

(10)

In 2023, one SAR reference beacon was deployed in Greenland (Denmark) to reinforce the SAR Monitoring in the edges of the coverage area and provide redundancy to the existing system.

(11)

In 2025 the ownership of the TTC Antenna in Redu (Belgium), that was so far supporting the Galileo programme as a service, is to be transferred from the European Space Agency to the Union.

(12)

Several facilities were set up and agreements signed, in particular for the GSMC, GRC and ILS center.

(13)

Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/413 should be amended accordingly.

(14)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Programme committee established by Article 107(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696,