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EU monies 'should fund Galileo' | |||
The BBC understands it will reiterate the Commission's view that the stalled 3.4bn-euro project should be 100% funded by the European Union. This would mean member states having to find about a billion more than they expected because of the collapse of private sector involvement. The EC is determined to have Galileo operational by the end of 2012. However, this target is dependent on financing arrangements being put in place this year. So far, only four spacecraft in the eventual 30-satellite constellation have been ordered. Unless contracts are issued for more platforms in the coming months, the timetable will slip again and Europe's biggest single space project may then face calls to be scrapped altogether.
The Commission will present a document in Brussels which it believes can "progress" and "reprofile" the project. The BBC understands its favoured position in the document is to take the extra monies needed to build Galileo fully from the reserves in the EU budget. One alternative had been to give the European Space Agency (Esa) a bigger role, resulting in its members making up the shortfall with extra contributions. The EC, however, would prefer that Esa stick to its current role as the "procurement agent, design authority and prime contractor". Galileo's planned network will beam radio signals to receiving devices on the ground, helping users pinpoint their locations. The system's technologies are designed to bring greater accuracy and reliability to navigation and timing signals delivered from space. It is intended to work alongside, and complement, the US Global Positioning System (GPS). The present funding crisis was triggered by the failure to agree a Public Private Partnership (PPP), in which a consortium of aerospace and telecom companies would build much of Galileo's infrastructure and then run its services. Wednesday's recommendations will emphasise the need for open competition in the procurement of infrastructure and urge that the EU appoint a single programme manger to oversee Galileo. | |||
