Copernicus is the European Union’s Earth Observation and monitoring programme launched in 2014 (building on its predecessor programme Global Monitoring for Environment and Security - GMES) in order to establish an operational European capacity to deliver Earth Observation data and related value-added services in the fields of environment, emergency management and security according to Regulation (EU) No 377/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 establishing the Copernicus Programme and repealing Regulation (EU) No 911/20101 (Copernicus Regulation).

Copernicus is a user-driven programme and requires the continuous, effective involvement of users - Union institutions and bodies, European, national, regional or local authorities, research entities, the private sector, particularly regarding the definition and validation of service requirements.

Following the adoption of the Copernicus Regulation, the Commission services have engaged in a continuous collection of user needs to gather evidence in view of the implementation of the programme, including feedback from users but also considering emerging needs fostered by changes in society, policies and technologies. This document builds on various consultation sources, including questionnaires, interviews, desk studies and analysis of published reports.

The aim of this document is to provide an overview synthesising all collected needs for Copernicus data and information services, expressed in different policy areas and stemming from various users.

This document responds to the necessity in the Copernicus Regulation to maintain a continuous dialogue with the users to keep the Copernicus programme relevant and to make it an effective tool for policymaking and policy implementation. It has been elaborated following recommendations published in the Copernicus mid-term evaluation report2 to improve the process to gather user needs for the evolution of the Copernicus programme.