Establishing a European Heliophysics Community (EHC)

Europe hosts a large and highly active community of scientists working in the broad domain of Heliophysics. This broad discipline addresses plasmas in the regions of space and atmosphere influenced by the Sun and solar wind. Howeverthis community has historically been fragmented, both geographically and thematically, which has limited the potential for strategic coordination, collaboration, and growth. This has recently prompted a grass-roots community-building effort to foster communication and interactions within the European Heliophysics Community (EHC). This white paper outlines the motiva- tion, priorities, and initial steps towards establishing the EHC, and presents a vision for the future of Heliophysics in Europe. As a crucial first step of this endeavour, a dedicated EHC website is now available: https://www.heliophysics.eu/.