The League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS), comprising 19 large-scale user facilities in 10 member and associated states, has put forward for the first time a European strategy for a transformative way of cooperation, thereby mobilizing the members’ substantial expertise in photon science and technology, in infrastructure management and service to users and stakeholders. This European Strategy for Accelerator-based Photon Sources—ESAPS 2022—is a coherent pan-European plan addressing the future challenges and needs of the new era in research and innovation, designed to put Europe in a global leadership position in important future key technologies. In ESAPS2022, ambitious facility upgrades and technology development plans as well as a new strategic challenge-driven use of these facilities are discussed.