Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013 and (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU

The services provided by Galileo shall comprise:

Galileo shall also contribute to:

The services provided by EGNOS shall comprise:

The services referred to in paragraph 1 shall be provided as a priority on the territory of all Member States geographically located in Europe, including for that purpose Cyprus, the Azores, the Canary Islands and Madeira, by the end of 2026.

The geographical coverage of EGNOS may be extended to other regions of the world, in particular to the territories of candidate countries, of third countries associated with the Single European Sky and of third countries in the European Neighbourhood Policy, subject to technical feasibility and in conformity with security requirements referred to in Article 34(2), and, for the SoL service, on the basis of international agreements.

The cost of the extension of the geographical coverage of EGNOS under paragraph 3 of this Article, including the related operating costs specific to these regions, shall not be covered by the budget referred to in Article 11. The Commission shall consider other programmes or instrument to finance such activities. Such extension shall not delay the offering of the services referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article throughout the territory of Member States geographically located in Europe.

Galileo and EGNOS, and the services which they provide, shall be compatible and interoperable from a technical point of view, including at user level.

Galileo and EGNOS, and the services which they provide, shall be compatible and interoperable with other satellite navigation systems and with conventional means of radio navigation, where the necessary compatibility and interoperability requirements and conditions thereof are laid down in international agreements.

Copernicus shall be implemented building on prior investments, including by stakeholders such as ESA and EUMETSAT and, where appropriate and cost-effective, drawing on the national or regional capacities of Member States and taking into account the capacities of commercial suppliers of comparable data and information and the need to foster competition and market development, while maximising opportunities for European users.

Copernicus shall deliver data and information building on the needs of the Copernicus users and based on a free, full and open data policy.

Copernicus shall support the formulation, implementation and monitoring of the Union’s and its Member States’ policies in particular in the fields of the environment, climate change, marine, maritime, atmosphere, agriculture and rural development, preservation of cultural heritage, civil protection, infrastructure monitoring, safety and security, as well as the digital economy with the aim to further reduce the administrative burden.

Copernicus shall comprise the following elements:

Copernicus shall promote the international coordination of observation systems and related exchanges of data in order to strengthen its global dimension and complementarity taking account of international agreements and coordination processes.

Eligible actions under the Copernicus Services shall include:

The Commission, supported where relevant by external independent expertise, shall ensure the relevance of the Copernicus Services by:

Copernicus shall include actions to provide enhanced access to all Copernicus data and Copernicus information and, where appropriate, provide additional infrastructure and services to foster the distribution, access and use of those data and information.

Where Copernicus data or Copernicus information are considered to be security sensitive within the meaning of Articles 12 to 16 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1159/2013, the Commission may entrust the procurement, the supervision of the acquisition, the access to and the distribution of those data and information to one or more fiduciary entities. Such entities shall set up and maintain a registry of accredited users and grant access to the restricted data through a segregated workflow.

Copernicus data and Copernicus information shall be provided to Copernicus users under the following free, full and open data policy:

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 105 to supplement the specific provisions set out in paragraph 1 of this Article as regards the specifications and conditions and procedures for the access to and use of Copernicus data and Copernicus information.

Where imperative grounds of urgency so require, the procedure provided for in Article 106 shall apply to delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Article.

The Commission shall issue licences and notices for access and use of Copernicus data and Copernicus information, including attribution clauses, in compliance with the Copernicus data policy as set out in this Regulation and applicable delegated acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 2.

The SST sub-component shall support the following activities:

The SST sub-component shall also provide technical and administrative support to ensure the transition between the Programme and the SST support framework established by Decision No 541/2014/EU.

SST services shall comprise:

SST services shall be free of charge, available at any time without interruption and adapted to the needs of the SST users referred to in Article 56.

Member States participating in the SST sub-component, the Commission and, where relevant, the SST Front desk referred to in Article 59(1), shall not be held liable for:

Union SST users shall comprise:

International SST users shall comprise third countries, international organisations which do not have their headquarters in the Union and private entities which are not established in the Union. They shall have access to SST services referred to in point (d) of Article 55(1) under the following conditions:

The Commission may adopt, by means of implementing acts, detailed provisions concerning the access to SST services and relevant procedures. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(3).

Member States wishing to participate in the provision of SST services referred to in Article 55(1) covering all orbits shall submit a single joint proposal to the Commission demonstrating compliance with the following criteria:

The criteria referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be deemed to be fulfilled by the Member States participating in the SST sub-component whose designated national entities are members of the Consortium established under Article 7(3) of Decision No 541/2014/EU as of 12 May 2021.

Where no joint proposal has been submitted in accordance with paragraph 1 or where the Commission considers that a joint proposal thus submitted does not comply with the criteria referred to in paragraph 1, at least five Member States may submit a new joint proposal to the Commission, demonstrating compliance with the criteria referred to in paragraph 1.

The Commission may adopt, by means of implementing acts, the detailed provisions concerning the procedures and elements referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(3).

Each Member State which has submitted a joint proposal that has been found compliant by the Commission in accordance with Article 57(1) or that has been selected by the Commission pursuant to the procedure referred to in Article 57(3) shall designate a Constituting National Entity established on its territory to represent it. The designated Constituting National Entity shall be a Member State public authority or a body entrusted with the exercise of such public authority.

The Constituting National Entities designated pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article shall conclude an agreement creating an SST partnership (‘SST partnership agreement’) and laying down the rules and mechanisms for their cooperation in implementing the activities referred to in Article 54. In particular, the SST partnership agreement shall include the elements mentioned in points (c), (d) and (e) of Article 57(1) and the establishment of a risk management structure to ensure the implementation of the provisions on the use and secure exchange of SST data and SST information.

The Constituting National Entities shall develop Union SST services of high quality in accordance with a multiannual plan, relevant key performance indicators and users’ requirements, on the basis of the activities of the Expert Teams referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article. The Commission may adopt, by means of implementing acts, the multiannual plan and the key performance indicators. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(3).

The Constituting National Entities shall network existing and possible future sensors to operate them in a coordinated and optimised way with a view to establishing and maintaining an up-to-date common European catalogue, without affecting Member States’ prerogatives in the area of national security.

Member States participating in the SST sub-component shall perform security accreditation on the basis of the general security requirements referred to in Article 34(2).

Expert Teams shall be designated by the Member States participating in the SST sub-component to be in charge of specific issues related to the different SST activities. The Expert Teams shall be permanent, managed and staffed by the Constituting National Entities of the Member States which designated them and may include experts from every Constituting National Entity.

The Constituting National Entities and Expert Teams shall ensure the protection of SST data, SST information and SST services.

The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, detailed rules on the functioning of the organisational framework of the participation of Member States in the SST sub-component. Those rules shall also cover for the inclusion at a later stage of a Member State in the SST partnership by becoming a party to the SST partnership agreement referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(3).

The Commission, taking into account the recommendation of the Constituting National Entities, shall select the SST Front Desk on the basis of the best expertise in security issues and in service provision. The SST Front desk shall:

The Constituting National Entities shall conclude the necessary implementing arrangements with the SST Front Desk.

The SWE sub-component may support the following activities:

SWE services shall be available at any time without interruption. The Commission shall select those services, by means of implementing acts, in accordance with the following rules:

The selection of public or private entities to provide SWE services shall be performed through a call for tenders.

The NEO sub-component may support the following activities:

The Commission, in its field of competence, may put in place procedures to coordinate, with the involvement of the appropriate UN bodies, the actions of the Union and national public authorities concerned with civil protection in the event a near-Earth object is found to be approaching Earth.

The provision of GOVSATCOM capacities and services shall be ensured as laid down in the service portfolio referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and in accordance with the operational requirements referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, GOVSATCOM specific security requirements referred to in Article 34(2) and within the limits of the sharing and prioritisation rules referred to in Article 66.

The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, the operational requirements for GOVSATCOM services, in the form of technical specifications for GOVSATCOM use-cases related in particular to crisis management, surveillance and key infrastructure management, including diplomatic communication networks. Those operational requirements shall be based on the detailed analysis of the requirements of GOVSATCOM users and shall take into account requirements stemming from existing user equipment and networks. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(3).

The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, the service portfolio for GOVSATCOM services, in the form of a list of categories of satellite communication capacities and services and their attributes, including geographical coverage, frequency, bandwidth, user equipment, and security features. The service portfolio shall take into consideration existing commercially available services in order not to distort competition in the internal market. Those implementing acts shall be regularly updated and shall be based on the operational and security requirements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and shall prioritise services provided to users according to their relevance and criticality. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(3).

GOVSATCOM users shall have access to the GOVSATCOM capacities and services listed in the service portfolio referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article. That access shall be provided through the GOVSATCOM Hubs referred to in Article 67(1).

The following entities may be GOVSATCOM users provided that they are entrusted with tasks relating to the supervision and management of emergency and security-critical missions, operations and infrastructures:

GOVSATCOM users referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be duly authorised by a GOVSATCOM participant referred to in Article 68 to use GOVSATCOM capacities and services and shall comply with the general security requirements referred to in Article 34(2), defined for GOVSATCOM.

Pooled satellite communication capacities, services and user equipment shall be shared and prioritised between GOVSATCOM participants referred to in Article 68 on the basis of an analysis of safety and security risks of the users. Such analysis shall take into account existing communication infrastructure and availability of existing capabilities as well as their geographical coverage, at Union and national level. That sharing and prioritisation shall prioritise GOVSATCOM users according to their relevance and criticality.

The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, the detailed rules on the sharing and prioritisation of satellite communication capacities, services, and user equipment, taking into account expected demand for the different GOVSATCOM use-cases, the analysis of security risks for those use-cases and, where appropriate, cost-efficiency.

The sharing and prioritisation of satellite communication capacities and services between GOVSATCOM users which are authorised by the same GOVSATCOM participant shall be determined and implemented by that GOVSATCOM participant.

The ground segment shall include infrastructure necessary to enable the provision of services to GOVSATCOM users in accordance with Article 66, particularly the GOVSATCOM Hubs which shall be procured under this component to connect GOVSATCOM users with providers of satellite communication capacities and services. The ground segment and its operation shall comply with the general security requirements referred to in Article 34(2), defined for GOVSATCOM.

The Commission shall determine, by means of implementing acts, the location of the ground segment infrastructure. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(3), and shall be without prejudice to the right of a Member State to decide not to host any such infrastructure.

Member States, the Council, the Commission and the EEAS shall be GOVSATCOM participants insofar as they authorise GOVSATCOM users, or provide satellite communication capacities, ground segment sites or part of the ground segment facilities.

Union agencies may become GOVSATCOM participants only insofar as necessary to fulfil their tasks and in accordance with detailed rules laid down in an administrative arrangement concluded between the agency concerned and the Union institution that supervises it.

Third countries and international organisations may become GOVSATCOM participants in accordance with Article 7.

Each GOVSATCOM participant shall designate one competent GOVSATCOM authority.

A competent GOVSATCOM authority shall ensure that:

The Agency shall be a body of the Union. It shall have legal personality.

In each of the Member States, the Agency shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under their national laws. It may, in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property and be a party to legal proceedings.

The Agency shall be represented by its Executive Director.

The seat of the Agency is located in Prague, Czechia.

Staff of the Agency may be located in one of the Galileo or EGNOS ground-based centres referred to in Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/413 or (EU) 2017/1406, to execute Programme activities provided for in the relevant agreement.

Depending on the needs of the Programme, local offices may be established in the Member States in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 79(2).

The Agency’s administrative and management structure shall comprise:

The Administrative Board, the Executive Director and the Security Accreditation Board shall cooperate to ensure the operation of the Agency and coordination in accordance with the procedures determined by the Agency’s internal rules, such as the rules of procedure of the Administrative Board, the rules of procedure of the Security Accreditation Board, the financial rules applicable to the Agency, the implementing rules of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (‘Staff Regulations’) and the rules governing access to documents.

The Administrative Board shall be composed of one representative from each Member State, and three representatives of the Commission, all with voting rights. The Administrative Board shall also include one member designated by the European Parliament, with no voting rights.

The Chairperson or the Deputy Chairperson of the Security Accreditation Board, a representative of the Council, a representative of the High Representative and a representative of ESA shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Administrative Board as observers for matters related directly to them, under the conditions laid down in the rules of procedure of the Administrative Board.

Each member of the Administrative Board shall have an alternate member. The alternate member shall represent the member in his or her absence.

Each Member State shall nominate a member and an alternate member of the Administrative Board taking account of their knowledge in the field of the Agency’s tasks and relevant managerial, administrative and budgetary skills. In order to ensure continuity of the Administrative Board’s activities, the European Parliament, the Commission and the Member States shall endeavour to limit changes of their representatives on the Administrative Board. All parties shall aim to achieve a balanced representation between men and women on the Administrative Board.

The term of office of the members of the Administrative Board and their alternates shall be four years and shall be renewable.

Where appropriate, the participation of representatives of third countries or international organisations and the conditions for such participation shall be established in the agreements referred to in Article 98 and shall comply with the rules of procedure of the Administrative Board. Those representatives shall have no voting rights.

The Administrative Board shall elect a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson from among its members having voting rights. The Deputy Chairperson shall automatically replace the Chairperson if he or she is prevented from attending to his or her duties.

The term of office of the Chairperson and of the Deputy Chairperson shall be two years, and shall be renewable once. Each term of office shall end when that person ceases to be a member of the Administrative Board.

The Administrative Board shall have the power to dismiss the Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson or both of them.

Meetings of the Administrative Board shall be convened by its Chairperson.

The Executive Director shall take part in the deliberations of the Administrative Board, unless the Chairperson decides otherwise. The Executive Director shall not have the right to vote.

The Administrative Board shall hold ordinary meetings on a regular basis, at least twice a year. In addition, it shall meet on the initiative of its Chairperson or at the request of at least one third of its members.

The Administrative Board may invite any person whose opinion may be of interest to attend its meetings as an observer. The members of the Administrative Board may, subject to its rules of procedure, be assisted by advisers or experts.

Where discussion concerns the use of sensitive national infrastructure, the representatives of Member States and the representatives of the Commission may attend the meetings and deliberations of the Administrative Board, on a need-to-know basis. However, only those representatives of Member States which possess such infrastructure and the representatives of the Commission are to take part in voting. Where the Chairperson of the Administrative Board does not represent one of the Member States which possess such infrastructure, he or she shall be replaced by the representatives of Member States which possess such infrastructure. The rules of procedure of the Administrative Board shall set out the situations in which this procedure may apply.

The Agency shall provide the secretariat of the Administrative Board.

Unless this Regulation provides otherwise, the Administrative Board shall take its decisions by a majority of its voting members.

Each representative of the Member States and of the Commission shall have one vote. In the absence of a member with the right to vote, his or her alternate shall be entitled to exercise his or her right to vote. Decisions based on point (a) of Article 77(2), except for matters under Chapter II of Title V, or on Article 77(5), shall only be adopted with a favourable vote of the representatives of the Commission.

The rules of procedure of the Administrative Board shall establish more detailed voting arrangements, in particular the conditions for a member to act on behalf of another member as well as any quorum requirements as appropriate.

The Administrative Board shall ensure that the Agency carries out the work entrusted to it, under the conditions set out in this Regulation, and shall take any necessary decision to that end. This shall not affect the competences entrusted to the Security Accreditation Board for the activities under Chapter II of Title V.

The Administrative Board shall also:

With regard to the Agency’s staff, the Administrative Board shall exercise the powers conferred by the Staff Regulations on the appointing authority and by the Conditions of Employment on the authority empowered to conclude employment contracts (the ‘powers of the appointing authority’).

The Administrative Board shall appoint the Executive Director and may extend or end his or her term of office pursuant to Article 89.

Except in respect of activities undertaken in accordance with Chapter II of Title V, the Administrative Board shall exercise disciplinary authority over the Executive Director in relation to his or her performance, in particular as regards security matters falling within the Agency’s competence.

The Agency shall be managed by its Executive Director. The Executive Director shall be accountable to the Administrative Board.

Without prejudice to the powers of the Commission and the Administrative Board, the Executive Director shall be independent in the performance of his or her duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or from any other body.

The Executive Director shall perform the following tasks:

The Executive Director shall decide whether it is necessary to locate one or more members of staff in one or more Member States for the purpose of carrying out the Agency’s tasks in an efficient and effective manner. Before deciding to establish a local office the Executive Directive shall obtain the prior approval of the Commission, the Administrative Board and the Member State(s) concerned. The decision shall specify the scope of the activities to be carried out at the local office in a manner that avoids unnecessary costs and duplication of administrative functions of the Agency. Where possible, the impact in terms of staff allocation and budget shall be incorporated in the draft single programming document referred to in Article 84(6).

The Security Accreditation Board shall elect a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson from among its members by a two-thirds majority of all members with the right to vote. Where a two-thirds majority has not been achieved following two meetings of the Security Accreditation Board, a simple majority shall be required.

The Deputy Chairperson shall automatically replace the Chairperson if the Chairperson is unable to attend to his or her duties.

The Security Accreditation Board shall have the power to dismiss the Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson or both of them. It shall adopt the decision to dismiss by a two-thirds majority.

The term of office of the Chairperson and of the Deputy Chairperson of the Security Accreditation Board shall be two years, renewable once. Each term of office shall end when that person ceases to be a member of the Security Accreditation Board.

The Security Accreditation Board shall have access to all the human and material resources required to perform its tasks independently. It shall have access to any information useful for the performance of its tasks in the possession of the other bodies of the Agency, without prejudice to the principles of autonomy and independence referred to in point (i) of Article 37.

The Security Accreditation Board and the Agency staff under its supervision shall perform their work in a manner ensuring autonomy and independence in relation to the other activities of the Agency, in particular operational activities associated with the exploitation of the systems, in accordance with the objectives of the Programme’s various components. A member of the Agency’s staff under the supervision of the Security Accreditation Board shall not at the same time be assigned to other tasks within the Agency.

The Security Accreditation Board shall set up special subordinate bodies, acting on its instructions, to deal with specific issues. In particular, while ensuring necessary continuity of work, it shall set up a panel to conduct security analysis reviews and tests and produce the relevant risk reports in order to assist it in preparing its decisions. The Security Accreditation Board may set up and disband expert groups to contribute to the work of the panel.

The Chairperson of the Security Accreditation Board shall ensure that the Board carries out its security accreditation activities independently and shall perform the following tasks:

For activities under Chapter II of Title V, the European Parliament and the Council may call upon the Chairperson of the Security Accreditation Board for an exchange of views before those institutions on the work and prospects of the Agency, including with regard to the multiannual and annual work programmes.

Without prejudice to other resources and dues, the revenue of the Agency shall include a Union contribution entered in Union budget in order to ensure a balance between revenue and expenditure. The Agency may receive ad hoc grants from the Union budget.

The expenditure of the Agency shall cover staff, administrative and infrastructure expenditure, operating costs and expenditure associated with the functioning of the Security Accreditation Board, including the bodies referred to in Article 38(3) and Article 82(3), and the contracts and agreements concluded by the Agency in order to accomplish the tasks entrusted to it.

Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance.

The Executive Director shall, in close collaboration with the Chairperson of the Security Accreditation Board for activities under Chapter II of Title V, draw up a draft statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the Agency for the next financial year, making clear the distinction between those elements of the draft statement of estimates which relate to security accreditation activities and those relating to the Agency’s other activities. The Chairperson of the Security Accreditation Board may write a statement on that draft and the Executive Director shall forward both the draft statement of estimates and the statement to the Administrative Board and the Security Accreditation Board, together with a draft establishment plan.

Each year, based on the draft statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure and in close cooperation with the Security Accreditation Board for activities under Chapter II of Title V, the Administrative Board shall draw up the statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the Agency for the next financial year.

By 31 January each year, the Administrative Board shall forward a draft single programming document including inter alia a statement of estimates, a draft establishment plan and a provisional annual work programme to the Commission and to the third countries or international organisations with which the Agency has entered into arrangements in accordance with Article 98.

The Commission shall forward the statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure to the European Parliament and to the Council (the ‘budgetary authority’) together with the draft general budget of the European Union.

On the basis of the statement of estimates, the Commission shall enter in the draft general budget of the European Union the estimates it deems necessary for the establishment plan and the amount of the subsidy to be charged to the general budget. The Commission is to submit the draft general budget to the budgetary authority in accordance with Article 314 TFEU.

The budgetary authority shall authorise the appropriations for the contribution to the Agency and shall adopt the establishment plan for the Agency.

The budget shall be adopted by the Administrative Board. It shall become final following final adoption of the general budget of the European Union. Where necessary, the budget shall be adjusted accordingly.

The Administrative Board shall, as soon as possible, notify the budgetary authority of its intention to implement any project which would have significant financial implications for the funding of the budget, in particular any projects relating to property such as the rental or purchase of buildings. It shall inform the Commission thereof.

Where an arm of the budgetary authority has notified its intention to deliver an opinion, it shall forward its opinion to the Administrative Board within a period of six weeks from the date of notification of the project.

The Executive Director shall implement the Agency’s budget.

Each year, the Executive Director shall communicate to the budgetary authority all the information needed for the exercise of their evaluation duties.

The Staff Regulations, the Conditions of Employment and the rules adopted jointly by the institutions of the Union for the purposes of the application of those Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment shall apply to the staff employed by the Agency.

The staff of the Agency shall consist of servants recruited by the Agency as necessary to perform its tasks. They shall have security clearance appropriate to the classification of the information they handle.

The Agency’s internal rules, such as the rules of procedure of the Administrative Board, the rules of procedure of the Security Accreditation Board, the financial rules applicable to the Agency, the rules implementing the Staff Regulations and the rules for access to documents, shall ensure the autonomy and independence of staff performing the security accreditation activities vis-à-vis staff performing the other activities of the Agency, pursuant to point (i) of Article 37.

The Executive Director shall be recruited as a temporary member of staff of the Agency in accordance with point (a) of Article 2 of the Conditions of Employment.

The term of office of the Executive Director shall be five years. At the end of that term of office, the Commission shall carry out an assessment of the performance of the Executive Director, taking into account the future tasks and challenges facing the Agency.

The Administrative Board may dismiss the Executive Director, on the basis of a proposal by the Commission or of one third of its members, by means of a decision adopted by a two-thirds majority of its members.

The European Parliament and the Council may call upon the Executive Director for an exchange of views before those institutions on the work and prospects of the Agency, including with regard to the multiannual and annual work programmes. That exchange of views shall not touch upon matters relating to the security accreditation activities under Chapter II of Title V.

Necessary arrangements concerning the accommodation to be provided for the Agency in the host Member State where the seat of the Agency is located and the facilities to be made available by that Member State together with the specific rules applicable in the host Member State to the Executive Director, members of the Administrative Board, Agency staff and members of their families shall be laid down in a headquarters agreement. The headquarters agreement shall be concluded between the Agency and the Member State concerned where the seat of the Agency is located, after obtaining the approval of the Administrative Board.

Where necessary for the operation of a local office of the Agency, established in accordance with Article 79(2), a hosting agreement between the Agency and the Member State concerned where the local office is located shall be concluded after obtaining the approval of the Administrative Board.

The Agency’s host Member States shall provide the best possible conditions to ensure the smooth and efficient functioning of the Agency, including multilingual, European-oriented schooling and appropriate transport connections.

Council Regulation No 1 (48) shall apply to the Agency.

The translation services required for the functioning of the Agency shall be provided by the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union.

Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 shall apply to documents held by the Agency.

The Administrative Board shall adopt arrangements for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Decisions taken by the Agency pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 may be the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman or an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union, under Articles 228 and 263 TFEU respectively.

In order to facilitate combating fraud, corruption and other unlawful activities under Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013, the Agency shall, within six months from the day it becomes operational, accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25 May 1999 concerning internal investigations by the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) (49) and adopt appropriate provisions applicable to all employees of the Agency using the model decision set out in the Annex to that Agreement.

The European Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on the spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors that have received Union funds from the Agency.

OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant or a contract funded by the Agency, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 and in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013.

Cooperation agreements with third countries and international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions of the Agency shall contain provisions expressly empowering the European Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, according to their respective competences. This shall not affect paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.

The contractual liability of the Agency shall be governed by the law applicable to the contract in question.

The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction to give judgment pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a contract concluded by the Agency.

In the event of non-contractual liability, the Agency shall, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States, make good any damage caused by its departments or by its servants in the performance of their duties.

The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction in disputes over compensation for the damage referred to in paragraph 3.