Canada and the European Union announced plans to negotiate a framework for Canadian access to Galileo services and begin exploratory talks on cooperation with IRIS². The commitments appear in their October 30 joint statement, issued after the EU–Canada summit in Montreal on October 29–30, 2026.
The space provisions bring navigation, secure satellite communications, and Earth observation into the bilateral agenda. Paragraph 27 of the full summit statement identifies negotiations as the next step for Galileo access and exploratory discussions as the next step for an IRIS² cooperation framework. It also commits the partners to deeper cooperation on Earth observation capabilities and to drawing on Canadian and European next-generation connectivity technologies.
Galileo Provides Positioning and Time
Galileo is Europe’s global satellite navigation system under civilian control. Operational since December 2016, it supplies positioning and timing information for applications including smartphones, transport, agriculture, and maritime operations.
Navigation satellites broadcast timing information and their orbital positions. A receiver compares signals from multiple satellites to calculate its location and correct its clock relative to the system’s time reference. New Space Economy’s coverage of Galileo’s next-generation infrastructure explains how clocks, navigation payloads, and communications between spacecraft support those functions.
Galileo already transmits signals that compatible devices can receive worldwide, and most services are free. Its service portfolio includes the Open Service, High Accuracy Service, Public Regulated Service, Search and Rescue Service, and navigation-message authentication. The summit commitment concerns negotiating a Canadian access framework within that broader service system.
IRIS² Provides a Separate Communications Function
IRIS² is the EU’s planned secure satellite communications network. Its full name is Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite. The system is designed to carry communications for government, defense, security, and emergency users, alongside commercial broadband services.
The EU’s published architecture calls for 348 satellites, comprising 330 in low Earth orbit and 18 in medium Earth orbit. These orbital layers form a communications constellation intended to supplement terrestrial networks, including in remote locations and during disruptions to ground infrastructure.
The European Commission manages the program, which is being delivered through a public-private partnership with SpaceRISE. The consortium comprises SES, Eutelsat, and Hispasat and is responsible for building and operating the system with its industrial partners.
Galileo’s positioning and timing functions and IRIS²’s communications functions explain the separate negotiating tracks in the summit statement. The announced Galileo work addresses service access; the IRIS² discussions concern a cooperation framework for the connectivity program.
Earth Observation and Secure Connectivity
The joint statement also identifies space-based communications, navigation, and Earth observation as strategic industries for closer economic cooperation. It places these activities alongside work on supply chains and emerging technologies, giving the space commitments both service and industrial dimensions.
The partners separately agreed to cooperate through Destination Earth on applications involving wildfires, extreme weather, and climate simulations. This adds a named environmental application to the summit’s broader commitment to deepen Earth observation cooperation.
The documented next steps are to launch the Galileo framework negotiations and the exploratory IRIS² talks, supported by cooperation on Canadian and European connectivity technologies.
