In their own words
Opening the event, Frontex Executive
Director, Hans Leijtens, underscored Copernicus’ operational impact for the
Agency: “Frontex is proud to have been a part of the Copernicus journey, and we
have seen firsthand the impact it has had on our border management operations,
with the programme's ability to provide timely and accurate data being a
game-changer for us.”
Christoph Kautz, Director for Space Policy, Satellite Navigation and Earth Observation at the European Commission, echoed that message and reiterated the institution’s long-term commitment to the programme: “We are deeply committed to this programme, and we are excited to see its continued growth and evolution, as it has become a cornerstone of EU cooperation, driving innovation and excellence across various sectors.”
Across the day, participants explored how Copernicus services support EU security, safety and well-being. Topics ranged from environmental monitoring and situational awareness to maritime domain awareness and border surveillance. Sessions also examined the security component’s evolution and how to bridge research outputs into operational services faster.
Digital-twin prize winners
A highlight was the Copernicus
Prize Contest awards, run by Frontex’s Fusion and Research and Innovation
teams, which recognised three solutions advancing a digital twin for border
surveillance. A digital twin is a virtual model that fuses real-time data and
simulation to support earlier detection and faster response. The winners were
the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography of Poland in first place, KONDORCAD
LANDSURV of Romania in second, and GMV of Spain in third.
Speakers stressed the need to keep
innovating and integrate multiple data sources into common reference
architectures so capabilities can scale efficiently across the Union. As Aija
Kalnaja, Deputy Executive Director for Capabilities at Frontex, put it: “We
must evolve and innovate, leveraging the latest technologies and expertise, and
integrate data from various sources to create a reference architecture for
border surveillance, and shape the future of border management.”
European Space Agency project
astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski reflected on his Axiom Mission 4 (Ignis)
to the International Space Station from 25 June to 15 July 2025, and on why
turning space-based insights into operational benefits on the ground matters
for safety and security.
Why it matters now
Copernicus has moved from
promising to operational in EU border management. The anniversary underscored two priorities for the next decade: accelerating service evolution, especially
security-relevant services, and turning research into deployable capabilities
at speed and at reasonable cost. The digital twin proofs of concept show how
data fusion, modelling and simulation can strengthen surveillance and
decision-making across complex border environments.
What is next
Outputs from the prize contest
and panel takeaways will feed into ongoing Copernicus service development and
user support, with an emphasis on replicability and scale across operational
contexts.
Learn more about the origins and development of the Copernicus
programme.
