Formed in 1986 and comprising 25 European member states, EUMETSAT's role is to establish, operate and exploit European meteorological satellite systems. Data from these systems are essential for precise and accurate weather forecasting; they also assist global earth observation and climatological programmes and directly benefit national economies by enabling marine, agricultural, aviation and other industries to plan and act more effectively.

Currently the systems include two generations of geostationary Meteosat satellites whose global overview is now complemented by the detailed observations provided by polar orbiting MetOp satellites and Jason-2.