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Frontex - European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders
Frontex - European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders
10/09/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/09/2025 09:49
Copernicus at 10: Data Powering EU Borders
Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, hosted a milestone event to mark ten years of the Copernicus Programme, Europe's flagship Earth observation capability. More than 200 experts from EU institutions, Member States, agencies, academia, and industry discussed how Copernicus data improves day-to-day border management and what the next decade should deliver.
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.
Frontex - European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders published this content on October 09, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 09, 2025 at 15:49 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]