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Setting up the European GNSS Agency

2009/0047(COD)

The purpose of this communication is to amend the financial statement accompanying Regulation (EU) No 912/2010 setting up the European GNSS Agency. Regulation (EU) No 912/2010 is to set up the European GNSS Agency and to determine its tasks in compliance with the provisions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 683/2008, which is the basic act for implementing the Galileo and EGNOS. The European GNSS Agency now has four main tasks:

  • to validate the security of the two European satellite radio-navigation systems;
  • to operate the Galileo Security Monitoring Centre (GSMC);
  • to help prepare the systems to be placed on the market;
  • to fulfil any other responsibilities that  the Commission may confer on it, pursuant to the Financial Regulation.

The adoption of Regulation (EU) No 912/2010 follows the submission to the European Parliament and the Council of a draft text adopted by the Commission on 24 March 2009, which is accompanied by a financial statement. The figures on the financial statement were based on information at the Commission's disposal at the time regarding the European GNSS Agency's foreseeable operating costs, in particular with regard to staffing.

However, two years ago knowledge of the workload involved in complying with the security requirements relating to the two European radio-navigation satellite systems was not as advanced as it is today. Various studies and meetings between technical experts, mostly classified, have since 2009 made it possible to determine exactly the resources required to meet demand in this regard. Furthermore,  during the discussions on the future Regulation (EU) No 912/2010 before Parliament and the Council, it proved necessary to make additions to the text drafted by the Commission on a number of points, specifically as regards the accreditation of systems security along with various clarifications.

Thus, as regards the Agency's task of accrediting systems security, while the Commission's draft text was limited to setting up the security accreditation committee, the Financial Regulation adopted sets out the conditions for that committee to pursue its activities. It makes provision, for example, for the security accreditation committee to set up specific subordinate bodies, in particular a group of experts charged with updating security analyses and performing tests, and a crypto-distribution authority.

It is recalled that the European GNSS Agency, also known as the GSA, will provide the staffing for the infrastructure of the Galileo system known as the GSMC (GALILEO Security Monitoring Centre). This centre is the 'brains' of the Galileo system as regards overall security. It is based in two geographical sites, and therefore its staff will be physically located in France and the United Kingdom.  The GMC must be entirely operational by 2014, which implies that it must be capable of running by 2013 for training and hands-on learning to take place. It will be operated 24 hours per day, 7 days per week by qualified experts.

The figures given in the services section of the initial financial statement in 2009 –8 posts in 2012 and 13 in 2013 – carried a number of provisos because not all of the necessary information was available. . Successive studies of threats, vulnerable areas and a "Secret EU" classification have provided more thorough knowledge of the system and helped to determine the types of defence to be put in place. Recent studies have shown that the GSMC will need 16 staff members in 2012 and then 28 in 2013. 

Furthermore, since the initial proposal, amendments have been made to the remit of the accreditation committee and the GSMC :

  • whilst the Commission's draft text was limited to setting up the security accreditation committee, the Financial Regulation adopted sets out the conditions for that committee to pursue its activities. It makes provision, for example, for the security accreditation committee to set up specific subordinate bodies, in particular a group of experts charged with updating security analyses and performing tests, and a crypto-distribution authority;
  • the security accreditation committee's role is further detailed – with regard to the arrangements for access to public regulated service (PRS) offered by the system arising from the Galileo programme – in the proposal adopted by the Commission on 8 October 2010 and currently under discussion before the European Parliament and the Council. Under this proposal, the accreditation committee is responsible for accrediting manufacturers of receivers designed to receive signals relating to the PRS ;
  • moreover, the European Council's decision to make Prague the seat of the European GNSS Agency entails relocation costs that are currently being assessed. A preliminary amount is incorporated into the draft budget to cover initial relocation costs and will be reviewed once negotiations with the Czech government have been completed.

In light of current figures on the development of the Galileo Supervisory Authority (GSA), and in particular the Galileo Security Monitoring Centre (GSMC), it is not possible to carry out security tasks, in particular analysis capacity and response to threats to Galileo. The initial financial statement should therefore be revised to adapt to the reality of the agency's staffing needs. The extra staff will be funded by a  transfer from the budget line of the GNSS programme administration. 

Summary of estimated impact on expenditure: the appropriations required for budget line 02.050201 European GNSS Agency (GSA) – Titles 1 and 2 (EUR 1 million in 2012 and EUR 1 million in 2013) are covered by the redeployment of budget line 02.010405 European  satellite radio-navigation programmes (EGNOS and Galileo) – Expenditure on administrative management.