"The industries have moved on with their own organisation but even this is far from being sufficient," said Michele Cercone, spokesman for Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot on 10 May 2007, which was set as the deadline for Galileo consortium partners to agree on the concession contract.
As a consequence, if the original plan of a public-private-partnership (PPP) for Galileo was maintained, there would be "irretrievable delays" and "unacceptable risks for the public finances". Therefore, the Commission will discuss and present, on 16 May 2007, alternative solutions for putting Galileo on orbit without further ado.
The Commission has proposed a review of the PPP and argues that the best option to make up for lost time in the project would be to make a "clear distinction between the construction fees of the infrastructure and exploitation fees". The Commission proposes that the first would be entirely covered by the public sector, whereas the latter "could be entrusted to the private sector".
The Commission also argues that, in the end, public-sector financing of the infrastructure would not increase the cost of Galileo to taxpayers. On the contrary: "It is cheaper to take on the entire construction of the infrastructure than to guarantee for 100% a private loan at market value," explained Cercone. The consortium had recently proposed that public money would be used to guarantee, 100%, the risks and debts of the project.
EU-27 transport ministers will decide on the future scenario for Galileo in June 2007. If they accept the Commission's proposal to fully fund the construction of the infrastructure from public money, and therefore to advance the public sector's payment for Galileo, the money would need to be taken from other Community budget lines.
