Brussels, 30/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - With the publication on Monday 29 June of a special report on management of the development and validation stage of the Galileo programme (European programme for satellite radio-navigation), the European Court of Auditors confirmed the impressions expressed by many observers: - the public/private partnership set in place for validating and managing the programme was unrealistic, mainly because of the fact that the different private stakeholders had different interests. According to the Court of Auditors, which recommends that in future the Commission should have appropriate management tools as for any other large-scale programme, neither the development nor the conception of public-private partnership were suitable, and the bad management of the programme has meant that the programme is five years behind schedule, at double the cost. Severely criticised, the Commission considers the assessment made by the Court is exaggeratedly negative.
In concrete terms, failings identified by the Court of Auditors concern various levels. First of all, it notes that the joint Galileo venture (a public-private partnership responsible for the development and validation of the programme) has not been a “strong” operational manager and has not been successful in reaching most of its objectives. Secondly, the Court of Auditors points to the fact that there is no strong supervisor or promoter, and underlines the fact that the Commission has been unable to manage the programme proactively, meaning that no-one is in control. Thirdly, it notes that, due to their different expectations of the programme, member states have intervened in the interests of their own national industries and blocked decisions. Compromises reached within the venture have in turn caused problems with regard to implementation and delays so that, as a result, costs are greater than initially expected. According to the Court of Auditors, the technological delay at the time when the Council and European Parliament approved the public management of the programme in autumn 2007 (see EUROPE 9424) was five years (in early 2008 no satellite was in orbit), while costs for the development and validation phase have practically doubled (going from €1.1 billion to €2.1 billion).
Furthermore, the Court of Auditors considers that the control of technological development - a responsibility of the joint venture - was considerably constrained by governance issues, an incomplete budget and delays. The results of technological research and development were limited due to the lack of continuity and the lack of a global market development approach, while governance of the programme proved inadequate. The breakdown of roles between the different entities (member states of the European Space Agency, the Commission, the joint venture) was not clearly defined and the Commission has not given the necessary impetus to development and management of the programme. The Court of Auditors thus recommends that, in the current phase (public management of the programme), the Commission should strengthen the management of the two satellite radio-navigation programmes, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and Galileo. It notes, however, that part of the measures along these lines have already been taken. The Commission has transferred about 30 experts from the Galileo Surveillance Authority (GSA) and recruited external experts with a view to creating a committee of experts responsible for the programme. It has also begun to develop a communication (planned for 2010 in line with the regulation restructuring Galileo management) on the strategic and operational objectives of the programme. From the operational point of view, the European Space Agency (ESA) should conclude, during August, the first contracts with the industry tasked with setting up the first Galileo constellation (see EUROPE 9744). According to ESA, all the contracts for the six segments of the programme should be concluded by the end of the year. (A.By./transl.jl)