Brussels, 31/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - The statute of the joint venture that is to manage the Galileo project took effect on 28 May, but the company itself is not expected to start functioning before the month of September at the earliest. On 26 March, the EU15 Transport Ministers had, after considerable delay and difficulty, reached an agreement of principle on the continuation of the satellite tracking and positioning project (see EUROPE of 27 March). The agreement was formally confirmed by the Council last week and took effect when it was published in the Official Journal on Tuesday.
Before the joint venture begins to operate, the European Commission and the European Space Agency must sign a constituent act, which mainly serves to appoint their representatives on the various boards: board of management, supervisory board, etc. The act should have been signed early in May but the European Space Agency (ESA) is not yet ready to sign it. The ESA is in a very particular situation - it is over-subscribed. Before signing the constituent act of the joint venture, the ESA must settle the financing of its contribution of EUR 550 million. "We have 125% in contributions and we are calling on some countries to reduce their contributions", explains an ESA spokesman. Germany and Italy, in particular, would be called upon to review their contribution downward. If Galileo is the victim of its success at ESA, it is because they "all want to be the leader", explains one observer. The ESA works according to the rule of "industrial returns" whereby the contracts are partially allocated according to the amount that each country pays in contributions. It is expected that the ESA Council, that will be meeting mid-June, will resolve the matter.
The management board of the joint venture could therefore meet for the first time end June or early July. It will then adopt its internal regulation and its budget for 2002. It must also decide on appointing the director or the acting director. The call for candidates for the post of director of the joint venture was published in the Official Journal C126 A of 28 May. The applications of candidature must arrive by 19 June at the latest. According to Commission forecasts, the joint venture should be comprised of around thirty employees. Some will be posted by the Commission or the ESA, but most will be recruited under contract, it is explained at the Commission. The joint venture will be responsible for managing the development of the Galileo project for the next four years. The European Community and ESA are each allocating EUR 550 million for this phase of development. Private companies may participate in Galileo funding only once the results of the call for tenders for realisation of the project are known. Galileo must be operational in 2008.