European Neighbourhood

As the region’s public interest in space only picked up in the last decade - thanks to increasing awareness of the downstream benefits of space technologies - the area is witnessing a rise in investments in Earth Observation and satellite-enabled communications. 
The development of Earth Observation capabilities is highly relevant for countries in the European Neighbourhood, which is regularly affected by natural disasters (e.g. seasonal floodings, droughts, heat waves, and earthquakes) and public health issues (mostly antibiotic-resistant bacteria like E. coli). This fact, together with a growing interest in improving the effectiveness of emergency response, represents fertile ground for cooperation on space and in particular has the potential to bring in new opportunities for the EU space sector.  
An increasing use of Space data is also showing significant potential, in particular to monitor infrastructure, transport and agriculture. Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS can bring added value to these sectors, in particular in the Southern neighbourhood area where the provision of EGNOS services could generate strong opportunities. Local companies and institutions seek to increase the technological added value of their services in the fields of infrastructure management and agriculture – which would benefit from GNSS-enabled monitoring and automated fertilising respectively.