To improve the resilience of emergency communications in Europe during network breakdowns, while also ensuring EU’s sovereignty on critical infrastructure during geopolitical crises, the European Parliament has submitted an amendment to the EU budget 2027 to propose a pilot project on Direct-to-Device Satellite Emergency Communications.
The pilot project focuses on recent technological developments that allow smartphones to connect directly to satellites to keep emergency communications working when mobile networks collapse. By testing this technology with emergency services and studying real-life crisis scenarios, it aims to investigate how people could still reach help during disasters, power outages, or network failures, especially in rural and remote areas. Its goal is to make Europe’s emergency communications more resilient, ensure citizens are never cut off from assistance in a crisis, and help build a stronger, more independent European approach to satellite-based emergency connectivity.
The pilot projects sets multiple objectives to both assess the impact of direct-to-device (D2D) satellite emergency communications implementation, and to strengthen the EU’s resilience.
First, the pilot would study current direct-to-device satellite technologies to assess how citizens could contact emergency services during network outages, especially in rural and remote areas. Secondly, it would test the technology through crisis simulations with emergency services to evaluate real use, identify barriers, and draw lessons learned. Third, the pilot could produce policy recommendations showing how satellite connectivity can support emergency and critical communications. Fourth, it could develop practical guidelines for Member States on using and managing satellite-based emergency communications. Finally, it would assess whether EU-level action is needed to deploy sovereign satellite emergency communication services across Europe.
The pilot project addresses both natural and human hazards, allowing resilient connectivity when all terrestrial infrastructure is shut down, while also protecting EU sovereignty from third country cyber threats and technological dependencies.
Thanks to the work of the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Pascal Arimont from the EPP group, this project proposal got the signatures of more than 40 MEPs. Pascal Arimont is co-chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on Resilience, Disaster Management and Civil Protection, which strongly supported EENA’s proposal.
The 39 MEPs are members of 6 different political groups: Left, Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, European Peoples Party, Greens EFA and the European Conservatives and Reformists. With this political support, the pilot project will be directly submitted to the European Commission for their assessment.
