Brussels, 05/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the Transport Council reached an agreement for the two-stage launching of the development phase of the European satellite positioning system, Galileo, to take place between 2001 and 2006. In a resolution, it gives it clearance for the launching of a first call for bids and the use of part of the Community funds earmarked for the project, but the December Council is expected to confirm the final transition to the second phase of the project. The countries most hesitant about the idea of committing public funds to the project (NL, UK, DK and Germany to a certain extent) reached a solution that guarantees the transition to the following phase of the project will not be automatic and that it will be subject to a clear commitment from the private sector. They also demanded that the Commission give confirmation that no additional public funding will be required once the system is fully operational.
The text of the compromise reached after several hours of discussion provides for the following timetable: 1) the Commission will launch a call for bids "as soon as possible" in order to specify the kind of services that will be provided by the system and to study the estimated flow of revenue. The results should be available this coming November; - 2) The Council will, on this basis, adopt a decision in December that "will have to define the maximum level of Community funds available for the operational phase and deployment", or the third phase of the project that will begin after 2006.
According to the wording secured after lengthy transactions, the resolution stipulates that the "Council's decision of launching the deployment phase will, as several European Councils agreed, call for broad financing from the private sector. In this context, the Council takes note of the Commission's position by which there will be no Community contribution during the operational phase".
The Netherlands annexed a declaration to the resolution, stipulating that the future system will have to be controlled by civilian authorities, as "the civilian nature of Galileo has always been highlighted as its main advantage in relation to the American GPS system". Greece published a counter declaration insisting on the "open" character of the system.
Commissioner Loyola de Palacio welcomed the fact that an agreement had finally been reached, following the deadlock in the Transport Council in December on the issue. Council President Bjorn Rosengren welcomed the adoption of a "decision on the way in which work must continue", considering that "Europe has now provided itself with the means to build a modern civilian navigation system". French Minister Jean-Claude Grayssot, declared before the press that he was "very satisfied" with the compromise, sign of a "Europe of competitiveness and sovereignty". Commissioner de Palacio added that the financing foreseen for the various phases of the project: 1) defining phase: EUR 82 million have already been freed for phase 1 which is ending; 2) development phase: EUR 100 million will be immediately freed by the Commission (from the budgets of the transeuropean networks and the research programmes) and 100 million by the European Space Agency (ESA), to which will be added the 200 million that private industry has undertaken to provide (see EUROPE of 23 March, p.7). The Community will have to provide a total of 1.130 billion for this phase. 3) deployment phase: the Commission had proposed from the outset that the EU and the ESA provide EUR 600 million and the private sector 1.5 billion. The novelty is that the private sector should take part as of the development phase, noted Loyola de Palacio. There will no longer be a EU financing during the operational phase, she added.
The Council continued into the evening its works on numerous other points on its agenda. It had raised, without conclusions, during the lunch the problem of the weekend driving ban for heavy good vehicles, as well as the negotiations with the United States for the liberalisation of air transport and the dispute over planes equipped with hushkits.