On the 13th of September 2023, in the framework of the State of the Union, President von der Leyen presented Commission priorities for 2024.

Copernicus is the world's largest provider of Earth Observation data and has become a crucial resource for scientists, public authorities, entrepreneurs, journalists and citizens globally.

The way environmental problems and benefits are unevenly distributed across our societies paints a troubling picture of inequity. Typically, it's the low-income neighbourhoods that grapple with nearby hazardous waste sites, or indigenous populations that are negatively impacted by resource extraction operations such as logging, mining, and oil dril

Copernicus, the European Union's flagship Earth Observation programme, has been instrumental in providing essential insights which have been used to address a range of societal challenges. 

Copernicus constitutes a key contribution to the objectives of the EU’s Strategy, including on polar matters. In fall 2021, the EU updated its Arctic Policy, for which Copernicus bears great support potential.