A preliminary affirmation: we would not actually be discussing the Galileo project, its chances of succeeding and its difficulties, if the EU did not exist. No member state on its own or coalition of member states would have launched such an ambitious project. It was devised and fiercely defended by François Lamoureux, director general at the time, and then unhesitatingly supported by the vice president of the Commission, Jacques Barrot. Without the European Commission there would be no...