Brussels, 08/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's Industry Committee favours the launch of a common enterprise to manage the development and launch of the GALILEO satellite navigation programme but calls for the private sector not to be involved in order to guarantee that competition rules are respected and avoid conflicts of interest. The report by Norbert Glante (PES, Germany) will be submitted to the plenary session in February. It proposes that the companies involved in financing GALILEO be linked to the common enterprise through a "promotion company" which should guarantee a regular and institutionalised exchange between the private sector and the common enterprise and promote the GALILEO programme to users and the public at large and could also carry out other tasks as required by the common enterprise, according to an amendment tabled by the Industry Committee. The Committee feels that relations between the promotion company and the common enterprise should be governed by a contract, but the European Commission wants companies contributing to GALILEO's funding to be part of the common enterprise and it board of governors. Other Industry Committee amendments call for the common enterprise to not be authomatically located in Brussels but for the decision to be taken on the basis of available tax exemptions.
The EP is only being consulted on the setting up of a common enterprise so its views are not binding. The Council has not taken any decision on the continuation of the GALILEO programme or the launch of a common enterprise. Heads of state at Laeken called on Transport Ministers to decide on funding by March and pass a full regulation by June (see EUROPE of 8 December, p.10 and 22 November, p.13).