Galileo comes one step closer to reality

A new plan for industrial tendering for the troubled satellite navigation system, tabled by the Commission, is expected to find support at a meeting of EU transport ministers later this week after Germany said its concerns over tendering rules have been met.

The Commission has presented the EU member states a new industrial tendering plan for Galileo, in what appears to be a last-chance attempt to save the troubled EU project. 

“If we don’t reach a clear agreement on the financing of Galileo before the end of this year, it will be too late and we need to put an end to our efforts,” warned Michele Cercone, spokesperson for EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot on 23 November 2007.

Cercone said the revised plan had made progress on three issues: governance, financing and the industrial tendering process for Galileo.

He said the latter would include at least the following principles in order to “guarantee competition and transparency”:

• identifying a sufficient number of segments subject to a tendering process to guarantee enough competition [to avoid one company domination]: so far, six different segments have been identified;
• rules on ‘non-accumulation’: in the tendering process, the prime contractor could be the prime contractor only in two of the segments and not more; 
• sub-contracting: the prime contractor would have to subcontract a large share (around 40%) to other companies that are not winners of the bid. 

Germany, which had voiced concerns that competitive tendering rules could end up excluding home firms from the Galileo projects, has already signaled that it could support the Commission’s new proposal. “If a proposal like that comes through and the financing is secured, it would offer a decisive benefit for Germany’s aerospace industry”, said a spokesperson for the German transport ministry on Friday. 

“No member state has shown opposition to work inside this framework. So we are convinced that a solution to Galileo’s problems can be found inside this framework,” said Cercone, adding that the Commission hoped to achieve substantial progress on the issue before the Transport Council this week, on 29 November.

He said that with this plan the Commission wishes to reassure all member states of its will to create “a framework to allow the whole of the European industry to benefit from the construction of this European project” and hopes that a solution within the proposed framework could end the disputes over financing aspects of Galileo. 

The same day, after marathon discussions on the EU 2008 budget, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers reached an agreement on the on the financing of of the Galileo through EU budget.

Read more with Euractiv

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