GMES is the European participation in the worldwide monitoring and management of our planet Earth and the European contribution to the Group on Earth Observation (GEO). The global community acts together for a synergy of all techniques of observation, detection and analysis.

At the World Summit on Earth Observation in Washington in July 2003, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) was established, with the goal of addressing the information requirement for the environment on a global scale. This work was completed in Brussels in February 2005 by the adoption of a 10 year implementation plan of an integrated Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

The GEOSS is an ambitious programme of information for ecological security and durable development intended for mankind. It principally foresees the monitoring and understanding of nature, the extent of disasters due to human activities, the impact of global warming, desertification, erosion and deforestation.

GMES will be the main European contribution to GEOSS.