Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Ex-post evaluation on the European earth monitoring programme (GMES) and its initial operations (2011 to 2013)

This report highlights the key findings of the ex-post evaluation of the European Earth monitoring programme GMES and its Initial Operations (GIO), 2011-2013. The report is accompanied by a staff working document providing more details.

GMES GIO (renamed Copernicus in 2014) is a flagship programme of the European Union space activities in line with article 189 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union enabling the EU to conduct space related activities. GMES GIO is also one of the programmes delivered under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and it was included in the industrial policy initiative, given its benefits to a wide range of Union policies.

GMES GIO was a long-term programme built on partnerships between the Union, the Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA) and other relevant European stakeholders. It was also a programme where the EU could play a more effective role than individual Member States in international cooperation through bilateral collaborations with other space faring nations or participation in global efforts in the field of Earth observation.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: SWD(2016)262: Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the report http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2016:262:FIN

ESO: Background information: Copernicus. Europe’s eyes on Earth http://www.europeansources.info/record/copernicus-europes-eyes-on-earth/

---