Text · Report parliamentary committee draft
On the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland laying down the rules for participation of Iceland in the GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme and in the Union Secure Connectivity Programme, and for access to GOVSATCOM services and to the governmental services of the Union Secure Connectivity Programme
Full title
On the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland laying down the rules for participation of Iceland in the GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme and in the Union Secure Connectivity Programme, and for access to GOVSATCOM services and to the governmental services of the Union Secure Connectivity Programme
Document ITRE-PR-789134 · 05271/2026 – C100099/2026 – 2025/0351(NLE)
- Kind
- Report parliamentary committee draft ITRE-PR-789134
- Date
- 23 June 2026
- Committee
- Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
- Rapporteur
- Paolo Borchia
- Dossier
- 2025/0351(NLE)
More facts (3)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Subject matter
- EXT, TELE
- Reference
- 05271/2026 – C100099/2026 – 2025/0351(NLE)
In short
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This is the rapporteur's draft report on the draft Council decision concluding an agreement between the European Union and Iceland on Iceland's participation in the GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme and in the Union Secure Connectivity Programme, and on access to their governmental services. The draft resolution gives Parliament's consent to the conclusion of the agreement. The explanatory statement says the agreements with Iceland and Norway extend secure satellite communications beyond the Union's borders, while the Union keeps exclusive ownership of the assets and the partners get no decision-making authority or veto rights. The agreements cost the Union budget nothing and generate assigned revenue; Iceland and Norway pay contributions based on their GDP, including retroactive contributions for costs since 2021 under the Space Programme and since 2023 for secure connectivity. The rapporteur stresses compliance with Article 218(10) TFEU so that Parliament is fully and promptly informed, and recommends a favourable opinion on the conclusion of the agreements.
Position. The rapporteur recommends a favourable opinion on the conclusion of the agreements, and the draft resolution gives Parliament's consent to the conclusion of the agreement with Iceland.
Key points
- The draft resolution gives Parliament's consent to the conclusion of the agreement between the European Union and Iceland on Iceland's participation in GOVSATCOM and the Union Secure Connectivity Programme.
- GOVSATCOM provides secure, resilient and protected satellite communications for authorised governmental users and critical infrastructures.
- IRIS² sets targets for a European satellite constellation providing ultra-fast, secure and low-latency communication and internet services by 2027.
- The agreements concern the participation of Norway (2025/0352(NLE)) and Iceland (2025/0351(NLE)) in GOVSATCOM and IRIS².
- Iceland and Norway are long-standing partners in the space sector; their involvement as users and through satellite capacities, ground segment facilities and technical infrastructure extends secure communications beyond the Union's borders.
- Their location close to the Arctic region makes secure connectivity important for sectors such as telecommunications and transport.
- The legal framework provides that the European Union retains exclusive ownership of all tangible and intangible assets, and the partner countries acquire no decision-making authority or veto rights over the programmes.
- Access to the services is subject to compliance with the EU's security standards and to supervision by designated competent national authorities.
- The agreements entail no expenditure for the Union budget and generate assigned revenue; Iceland and Norway finance their participation through contributions based on their respective GDP.
- These contributions include a retroactive contribution covering costs incurred by the Union since 2021 under the Space Programme and since 2023 for secure connectivity.
- The rapporteur emphasises compliance with Article 218(10) TFEU, which guarantees that Parliament is fully and promptly informed at every stage of the procedure.
- The rapporteur recommends a favourable opinion on the conclusion of the agreements, citing technical, geopolitical and economic benefits and the strengthening of secure communications and commercial broadband connectivity.
Who is affected
- Iceland: participates in GOVSATCOM and the Union Secure Connectivity Programme as a user and through satellite capacities and infrastructure, and pays GDP-based contributions.
- Norway: covered by a parallel agreement (2025/0352(NLE)) on participation in GOVSATCOM and IRIS², with the same financial arrangements.
- Authorised governmental users and critical infrastructures: receive secure, resilient and protected satellite communications.
- Telecommunications and transport sectors: secure connectivity is of particular importance given the partners' location close to the Arctic region.
Figures and deadlines
- 2027: target year for the European satellite constellation to provide ultra-fast, secure and low-latency communication and internet services.
- 2021: start of costs effectively incurred by the Union under the Space Programme covered by the retroactive contribution.
- 2023: start of costs for secure connectivity covered by the retroactive contribution.
Legal basis. Article 186 and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a)(v), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Text
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Draft european parliament legislative resolution
on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland laying down the rules for participation of Iceland in the GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme and in the Union Secure Connectivity Programme, and for access to GOVSATCOM services and to the governmental services of the Union Secure Connectivity Programme
–having regard to the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland laying down the rules for participation of Iceland in the GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme and in the Union Secure Connectivity Programme, and for access to GOVSATCOM services and to the governmental services of the Union Secure Connectivity Programme (05275/2026),
–having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 186 and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a)(v), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C100099/2026),
–having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A100000/2026),
Back matter, 2
Parts that accompany the text rather than belong to it: explanatory statement, annexes, opinions appended by other committees. Collapsed.
Explanatory statement 9 blocks
GOVSATCOM and IRIS² represent the European Union’s response to the growing need to ensure reliable communications in a context marked by persistent connectivity gaps and an increasing number of cyber threats.
While GOVSATCOM provides secure, resilient and protected satellite communications for authorised governmental users and critical infrastructures, IRIS² sets out the targets for the development of a European satellite constellation designed to provide ultra-fast, secure and low-latency access to communication and internet services by 2027.
Withing this framework, the international agreements concerning the participation of Norway (2025/0352(NLE)) and Iceland (2025/0351(NLE)) in GOVSATCOM and IRIS² are of significant interest to the European Union.
As a matter of fact, Iceland and Norway have long been close and trusted partners of the Union in the space sector. Consequently, their formal involvement - both as users and through the provision of satellite capacities, ground segment facilities and technical infrastructure - extends the use of secure communications beyond the Union’s borders, thereby strengthening its global role and fostering international cooperation.
Moreover, their strategic geographical location close to the Arctic region gives secure connectivity particular importance for key economic sectors such as telecommunications and transport.
At the same time, the legal framework governing these agreements safeguards the Union’s interests by explicitly providing that the European Union retains exclusive ownership of all tangible and intangible assets associated with the infrastructures developed, while the partner countries acquire neither decision-making authority nor veto rights over the management and future development of the programmes. Furthermore, access to the services is subject to compliance with the EU’s strict security standards and to supervision by specifically designated competent national authorities.
From a financial perspective, the agreements do not entail any expenditure for the Union budget; instead, they generate assigned revenue. Iceland and Norway will finance their participation through financial contributions calculated on the basis of their respective GDP, including a retroactive contribution covering the costs effectively incurred by the Union since 2021 under the Space Programme and since 2023 for secure connectivity.
Despite the predominantly technical nature of these dossiers, the rapporteur emphasises the importance of compliance with Article 218(10) TFEU, which guarantees that Parliament is fully and promptly informed at every stage of the procedure. This principle is considered an essential condition for assessing the impact of strategic partnerships on the European industrial base and on the effective use of public resources in terms of innovation and competitiveness.
Without prejudice to the necessary institutional considerations, and in view of the technical, geopolitical and economic benefits arising from the extension of these programmes to two reliable partners within the European Economic Area, the rapporteur recommends a favourable opinion on the conclusion of the agreements. Such a measure will strengthen the capacity to provide secure communications for governments and security services while also fostering the development of commercial broadband connectivity, thereby contributing to bridging the digital divide and ensuring improved coverage in remote and strategically significant areas.
Annex: declaration of input 1 block
The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his report input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register[1], or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.
Connections
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Sources & citation
Where the facts on this page come from, and how to cite it.
- Data source
- Licensed CC BY 4.0.
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
Cite as
European Parliament (2026). “DRAFT RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland laying down the rules for participation of Iceland in the GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme and in the Union Secure Connectivity Programme, and for access to GOVSATCOM services and to the governmental services of the Union Secure Connectivity Programme”. Text, 23 June 2026. docId ITRE-PR-789134. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ITRE-PR-789134 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/ITRE-PR-789134 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-itre-pr-789134,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{DRAFT RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland laying down the rules for participation of Iceland in the GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme and in the Union Secure Connectivity Programme, and for access to GOVSATCOM services and to the governmental services of the Union Secure Connectivity Programme}},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-06-23},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ITRE-PR-789134}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ITRE-PR-789134},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId ITRE-PR-789134. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}