The fully automated observatory for total greenhouse gas (GHG) column measurements introduced here complements the in-situ facilities at the Białystok site in Poland. With the automated Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), solar absorption measurements have been recorded nearly continuously since March 2009. In this article the automation system, including the hardware components and the automation software will be described in its basics. Furthermore the first comparison of the FTS dataset with the collocated in-situ measurements and the first comparison of the Jena CO<sub>2</sub> inversion model are presented. This model identifies monthly variations in the total CO<sub>2</sub> column and the seasonal amplitude is in good agreement with the FTS measurements.