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But back to the workshop, where I was especially pleased with the speech by Philippe Brunet (you can watch it here). He made all the right points concerning (to take a few): private/public boundaries, industry access to data, the need for federated demand in Europe and the problems with delivering this etc. For the first time, I have the feeling that the needs of industry are being taken seriously. This stems from two sources in my view; firstly the shift in the whole Commission trajectory coming from Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker (as Rudy Aernaudt pointed out) and secondly by the realisation that if Copernicus is to deliver on its promise of more jobs in the downstream sector then action must be taken now. We shall soon (next year) start talking about the next financial perspectives - taking effect from 2021 - which will bring a focus on the results of the Copernicus investments. The Juncker focus on economy and jobs will certainly shine a light on the outcomes of the Copernicus programme, so we need to be acting now.

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