Brussels, 04/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission will be calling on the Council to take the necessary political decisions for launching deployment and utilisation phases of the European radio-navigation satellite system, Galileo. In a communication that it should, in principle, be adopting on Wednesday, the Commission declared that all the conditions were in place for the Council to confirm the Community's financial contribution for the two phases as well as for defining the five services Galileo will offer. The Commission is examining a report from the joint Galileo company, which assessed the offers from the two consortiums in the running for the contract for the system (EUROPE 4 September), to draw its conclusions. A cautious report, for which the objective, is not to split into two groups but to see whether the two offers meet the required criteria.
In March 2004, the Council called on the Commission to establish, before the end of October, a communication, that would enable it to reach the political decisions necessary for launching the deployment (2006-7) and utilisation phases (from 2008) for the Galileo system, which since 2002 has been in its development phase. The Commission is preparing to publish this communication and has very clearly indicated that all the conditions are in place for launching the two phases:
1) confirmation of a substantial commitment from the private sector on the basis of the joint Galileo enterprise report, the Commission points out that the two consortiums are committed to funding "at least two thirds of the cost of the deployment phase" (EUR 1.4 bn out of the EUR 2.1 bn planned, which corresponds to the cost distribution envisaged by the Council;
2) Galileo will offer five kinds of service: open; commercial, lifesaving, public regulation (PRS), and research and safety. The Commission has indicated that the offers from the two pre-selected consortiums "conform to the specific technical requirements and each propose five services". In connection with the PRS (the security based service), candidates confirm the existence of a strong demand for this service. The two consortiums offer all the guarantees in security and safety and also include the possibility for the Council to demand alterations to the quality of signals in the event of any crisis;
3) the signing in June 2004 of an agreement with the USA guaranteed the inter-operability between the EU and GPS)US system;
4) the Council' adoption in July 2004 of the proposals defining the future system's structural framework: the monitoring authority and the security mechanism.
In light of previous developments, the Commission considers that the Council has currently got to take the decisions necessary for ensuring the transition of the two other Galileo phases. It will first of all have to confirm the Community commitment for funding these two phases. Without explicitly mentioning it, the Commission is calling on the Council to adopt the draft regulation providing the Galileo programme with EUR 1 bn (500 million for the deployment phase and 500 million for the first years of the utilisation phase), presented in July 2004 in the framework of financial perspectives for 2007-13 (EUROPE 16 July). The Council will also have to confirm the essential characteristics of the system for the services provided. The Commission believes it essential for the Council to adopt a decision formally indicating the five services provided by Galileo, including the security-based service.
These decisions will allow the joint Galileo venture to proceed to its final phase of implementing the system for contracts. Negotiation of the contract-holder is expected to be signed in 2005 and private actors should also confirm their financial commitments too, concluded the Commission.