During the first half of 2025, Poland is holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second time. As president, Poland is steering work across all levels of the Council’s operations, aiming to foster collaboration and consensus among EU Member States.

With the official motto “Security, Europe!”, the Polish presidency focuses on strengthening European security in seven security dimensions. In the area of space the presidency will focus on a number of topics, including the use of Earth observation (EO) data and AI for security and crisis management. It will also promote synergies of space technologies with other industries, including defence. Under the auspices of the Polish Presidency, the EU Space Days 2025 will be organised in Gdańsk (27-28 May).

Horizon Europe, the EU framework programme for research & innovation, is funding EU Space Research projects across various domains. These projects aim to develop cutting-edge space technologies, products and services, ensuring that the EU remains competitive in space and retains a high level of autonomy in accessing and utilising space.

With Poland’s EU presidency now in full swing, we highlight five EU-funded research projects with significant contributions from Polish participants:

EROSS SC – Revolutionising In-Space Operations and Services

PL beneficiary: PIAP Space

EROSS SC is enabling the maturation of robotic technologies needed for on-orbit servicing, a key element of In-Space Operations and Services. The ambitious project is integrating the different technologies into a single mission concept, covering various operations on orbiting satellites, including rendezvous, capturing and servicing.

LUWEX – Extracting water from Moon dust

PL beneficiaries: Scanway and Wrocław University of Science and Technology

LUWEX aimed to develop novel technologies for extracting and purifying water from lunar regolith. The international team of researchers successfully demonstrated the extraction technologies in laboratory conditions, showing how ice could be extracted from simulated lunar regolith. The purified water holds significant potential for use as drinking water, oxygen production, or rocket propellant in space – a critical step in supporting sustainable space exploration missions. The project ended on 31 December 2024; this video showcases its achievements.

ORCHIDE – Boosting on-board Earth observation applications

PL beneficiary: KP Labs

ORCHIDE focuses on optimising on-board data processing for Earth observation missions, addressing the challenge of handling large volumes of data generated by multiple instruments. The ability to process data on board allows for a more efficient use of available resources, thereby enhancing mission flexibility and reducing operational costs. The project seeks to facilitate the deployment and orchestration of image processing applications on board EO satellites, regardless of the hardware processing resources and the hosting software execution platform.

SALTO – Towards a European reusable launcher

PL beneficiary: SpaceForest

SALTO aims to raise the maturity level of the first European reusable rocket technology and significantly reduce launch costs, while ensuring improvements in the environmental footprint and strengthening Europe’s competitiveness in strategic space missions. Complementary to and in coordination with the ESA European THEMIS demonstrator programme, SALTO will perform in the course of 2025, for the first time in Europe, fly/recover/re-fly cycles of a reusable rocket first-stage demonstrator.

THEIA – Enhancing the Copernicus Security Service

PL beneficiary: Creotech Instruments

THEIA addresses the critical crisis management challenges posed by forced population displacements, which are caused by conflicts, climate change, extreme weather events and food shortage. The project is proposing the integration of Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) and Machine Learning with advanced data fusion and analysis techniques, combining space (Earth observation) and non-space data. The innovative crisis information tools created by the project will be tailored to user and policy needs, and will benefit a wide array of end-users including the Copernicus Security Services.

Background

EU Space Research aims to foster a cost-effective, competitive, and innovative space industry and research community. Under Horizon Europe Cluster 4 – Space (Destination 5), HaDEA is funding projects that prepare future evolutions of the EU Space Programme components, foster the EU space sector’s competitiveness, reinforce its independent capacity to access space, and secure its autonomy of supply for critical technologies.

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February 2025

21 February 2025

Market operations

Extension of liquidity lines until January 2027

On 23 January 2025 the Governing Council approved the extension of the ECB repo lines with eight non-euro area central banks (Magyar Nemzeti Bank, Banca Națională a României, Bank of Albania, Andorran Financial Authority, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia, Central Bank of the Republic of San Marino, Central Bank of Montenegro and Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo) until 31 January 2027. The decision was taken pursuant to the new framework for euro liquidity lines, which was adopted in 2023.

Eurosystem climate stress test report

On 13 February 2025 the Governing Council took note of the main findings of the 2024 climate stress test on the Eurosystem’s balance sheet, which will feed into the Eurosystem’s climate-related financial disclosures.

Market infrastructure and payments

Inclusion of provisions on the TARGET Analytical Environment in the T2 Currency Participation Agreement

On 13 February 2025 the Governing Council approved the amendments to the agreement on the use of T2 services (T2 Currency Participation Agreement) to include the TARGET Analytical Environment as a standard feature offered to both current and future signatories of the T2 Currency Participation Agreement.

Advice on legislation

ECB Opinion on flood insurance

On 4 February 2025 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2025/3 at the request of the Chair of the Oireachtas (Irish National Parliament) Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister).

ECB Opinion on indirect participants in, and access to, payment systems, and a new exemption from the cash rule

On 5 February 2025 the Governing Council adopted Opinion CON/2025/4 at the request of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority.

Corporate governance

ECB’s Annual Accounts for 2024

On 19 February 2025 the Governing Council approved the audited financial statements of the ECB for the financial year 2024. The annual accounts, together with a press release, are available on the ECB’s website.

ECB Recommendation on the external auditors of the European Central Bank for the financial years 2025 to 2029

On 12 February 2025 the Governing Council adopted Recommendation ECB/2025/6 to the Council of the European Union on the external auditors of the European Central Bank.

Statistics

Extension of the Integrated Reporting Framework and the Common Data Management investigation phases

On 17 February 2025 the Governing Council approved the revised Quality Review Gate 1 documentation (including the Financial Envelopes and Project Charters), extending until the end of September 2025 the investigation phases of the ESCB and SSM Common Data Management and the ESCB Integrated Reporting Framework projects.

Banknotes and coins

Composition of the design contest jury for the new euro banknotes

On 6 February 2025 the Governing Council took note of the composition of the design contest jury for the new euro banknotes. The jury will prepare a shortlist of designs to support the selection of the final design of the future euro banknotes by the Governing Council and is scheduled to start work in early 2025.

ECB Banking Supervision

Update of the 2025 Supervisory Examination Programme (SEP) for on-site inspections and internal model investigations at significant institutions

On 30 January 2025 the Governing Council did not object to a proposal by the Supervisory Board for an update of the 2025 SEP for on-site inspections and internal model investigations at significant institutions and outsourcing service providers. The on-site SEP is based on SSM supervisory priorities for 2025-2027 published on the ECB’s banking supervision website.