Torrejón de Ardoz, 30 August 2023
The EU defence ministers and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell have visited the European Union Satellite Centre (EU SatCen), located in Torrejón de Ardoz, which has just celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Accompanied by the acting Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, Borrell chaired the second ministerial meeting of the SatCeN Board of Directors, as part of which the European defence ministers toured the centre’s facilities.
The meeting precedes the informal ministerial meeting to be held in Toledo by the heads of defence of the EU within the framework of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU.
At the end of the meeting, Borrell stressed the fundamental role of the centre, which he described as the EU’s “eyes” in space. The centre has been instrumental in mapping and monitoring the destruction of the Kayovka dam in Ukraine, and in heling to evacuate European citizens from South Sudan.
We discussed the centre’s achievements and, more importantly, how to further shape, develop and improve its activities in the future
“The centre gives us a better view of relevant developments around the world and ministers had the opportunity to see this first hand today during a visit to the Satellite Centre’s operations rooms.”
“We discussed the centre’s achievements and, more importantly, how to further shape, develop and improve its activities in the future.”
Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
For her part, Minister Robles stressed that all the technology and information provided by the centre “is essential for making progress in many areas, such as the invasion of Ukraine, the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration”.
What is SatCen?
The European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) is one of the six EU agencies in Spain, the main objective of which is to support EU foreign, security and defence policy actions from space.
Located in Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, SatCen was founded in 1992 as an agency of the now defunct Western European Union (WEU), and on 1 January 2002 became the EU’s geospatial intelligence agency.
The centre’s mission is to provide geospatial intelligence products and services to the EU and its member states in support of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and in particular the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), through the analysis of geospatial and earth observation data.
SatCen actively takes part in the EU’s operational decision-making process, providing early warning for diplomatic, economic and humanitarian action in the event of a crisis.
In this regard, some of the main tasks of this agency are:
- Intelligence information for the EU and its member states.
- Planning and execution of military and civilian operations.
- Arms control, non-proliferation and verification of international treaties.
- Fight against terrorism and crime.
- Management of humanitarian crises, conflicts and natural disasters.
- Development and promotion of space technology.
Since June 2019, SatCen has been headed by Sorin Dumitru Ducaru, a Romanian career diplomat. The director of the centre is appointed by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on a proposal from the Satcen Management Board, which is composed of representatives of the 27 member states.
Source – EU Council (Spanish Presidency)