Controversial Euro sat nav gets go-ahead

 

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By Barry Collins and Reuters

Posted on 26 Nov 2007 at 09:44

EU nations have clinched a deal to fund an ambitious satellite navigation project to rival the US Global Positioning System (GPS), using unspent cash from the EU budget.

Ministers have agreed to finance a 2.4 billion euro (£1.7 billion) shortfall in start-up costs of the Galileo system by redeploying unspent money for farm subsidies and competitiveness projects.

"We have an agreement. All the money was taken out of unspent funds, mostly for agriculture," a spokesperson says.

Germany, the biggest net contributor to the 27-nation bloc's coffers, voted against the agreement but was outvoted. The presidency spokesman confirmed the decision was not unanimous but declined to comment on who had voted against it.

Supporters say it is a vital technological platform for Europe, but critics say it could be a costly white elephant because GPS already has a dominant market position and Russia and China are working on their own systems.

Earlier this month, the Commons Transport Committee lambasted the project, urging the government to stop the flow of public funds to Galileo. "What taxpayers in the United Kingdom and other European countries really need and want is better railways and roads, not giant signature projects in the sky, providing services that we already have from GPS and other systems," argued Gwyneth Dunwoody, Labour chairman of the transport committee.

The EU executive warned it would have to drop the project if there was no agreement among member states on public funding by the end of this year.

The total cost of Galileo - 3.4 billion euro (£2.4 billion) - is being raised from public funds after private companies declined to carry the risk.

See the next issue of PC Pro - on sale 13 December - for an in-depth analysis of the Galileo project.