Brussels, 19/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - Reacting to comments by outgoing German Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe that Germany would not be providing extra funding for Galileo, German ADLE MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis said Member States' financial squabbling must not be allowed to get in the way of Galileo, the European radio navigation programme. Some 400 mil euros are still required before the deployment phase can be launched as scheduled in 2006. In a press release following the European Space Agency (ESA) meeting in Paris on 13 October, Stolpe said Germany was Galileo's biggest contributor, providing EUR 500 mil of its funding, and would not release any extra funding if German interests are not taken into account in a reasonable manner. Stolpe said Germany would not be the only country funding the aviation and space industry of Southern Europe and France (referring to the tender won by iNavSat and Eurly in June 2005 to run Galileo). Chatzimarkakis said Stolpe should not have been so heavy-handed. The Galileo project is a symbol of Europe's innovation and competitiveness, he warned, but Europe was on the verge of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory - the United States must be rubbing their hands with glee.