 At a meeting in Paris on 24–25 May 2007, ESA's Science Programme Committee (SPC) approved the DPAC proposal submitted in response to the Announcement of Opportunity for the Gaia data processing.The proposal describes a complete data processing system capable of handling the full size and complexity of the Gaia data within the mission schedule.Following the SPC approval, the DPAC is officially responsible for all Gaia data processing activities.