EU divided over Galileo funding

At a meeting in Luxembourg, ministers from Britain, the Netherlands and Germany led opposition to a proposed rescue bid for the Galileo project.

They opposed a European Commission (EC) proposal to use 2.4bn euros from EU funds to get the system back on track.

The EC is determined to have Galileo operational by 2013, but so far only one test satellite is in orbit.

In addition, only four of the eventual 30-satellite constellation has been ordered.

Unless contracts are issued for more spacecraft soon, the timetable for Europe's biggest single space project may slip again and could face calls to be scrapped altogether.

Decision time

The present funding crisis was triggered by the failure to agree a Public Private Partnership (PPP), in which a consortium of aerospace and telecom companies would build much of Galileo's infrastructure and then run its services.

GALILEO UNDER CONSTRUCTION

• A European Commission and European Space Agency project
• 30 satellites to be launched in batches by end of 2011-12
• Will work alongside US GPS and Russian Glonass systems
• Promises real-time positioning down to less than a metre
• Guaranteed under all but most extreme circumstances
• Suitable for safety-critical roles where lives depend on service

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The aim now is for the infrastructure to be built using public funds and for the private sector to come in only as the operator.

In September, the EC said that unused agricultural and administrative funds from 2007 and 2008 could be used to plug most of the 2.4bn-euro hole in the project.

However, this would mean that the EU's agreed budget for 2007-2013 would have to be readjusted.

"The German government does not agree with the Commission's proposal in this form," Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said at the Luxembourg meeting of transport and telecommunication ministers.

Germany has previously suggested that the shortfall could be made up by European Space Agency (Esa) members, a suggestion that the EC is against.

EU finance ministers will now discuss the proposal and a final decision on Galileo's future is expected at a meeting of EU leaders in December.

Portugal's transport minister Mario Lino is confident that the project will get the final go ahead.

"We are on the right track," he said.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Galileo (EC)
Galileo (Esa)
GSA
European Satellite Navigation Industries
Galileo Masters (UK Pages)
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited
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