From 14 to 17 April 2026, the SUNSHINE project was represented at the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) Conference, held in Riga, Latvia. The annual event gathered more than 700 participants and 30 exhibitors from over 50 countries, bringing together leading experts in emergency services and public safety. For SUNSHINE, the conference represented a key opportunity to promote its capacity building programme as well as raise awareness of the Galileo Emergency Warning Satellite Service (EWSS) and its potential to strengthen public warning systems across Europe.
SUNSHINE's presence was most prominent during the three dedicated public warning sessions held on Thursday 16 April, which respectively covered the latest developments in population alerting technologies, national implementation strategies, and technological evolutions in the field. These sessions featured speakers from the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), national civil protection authorities, and industry partners.
Several significant milestones were recorded: EUSPA confirmed that the target date for declaring Galileo EWSS initial services was early 2027; Germany's Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) officially announced that EWSS implementation will begin in 2026; and Estonia's Ministry of the Interior mentioned it will start working towards integrating the service by 2028.
Another highlight of the event was the closing discussion panel on Friday 17 April, in which SUNSHINE consortium partner Telespazio France presented the upcoming European alerting system by satellite, Galileo EWSS , and how it will greatly complement existing technologies based on terrestrial networks.
Want to learn more about how EU Space data and services can strengthen your emergency response capabilities
SUNSHINE is currently organising its last Training Seminar in Zagreb, Croatia (23–26 June 2026). This seminar will provide civil protection professionals with hands-on experience with Earth Observation (Copernicus EMS), population warning (Galileo EWSS), secured communication (GOVSATCOM and IRIS²) as well as other EU Space services. This event will path the way to the second and final SUNSHINE Simulation Exercise which will be held on 6–7 October 2026 in Brussels, Belgium.
Submit your Expression of Interest to participate in the Training Seminar in Zagreb at: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/SUNSHINE_TrainingSeminars_ExpressionOfInterest