Prospects for the proposed Galileo system improved considerably following Germanys decision to back the program, and gained further momentum with an endorsement by EU heads of state.
Late in February, German Transport Minister Kurt Bodewig announced that he would approve the allocation of 155 million Euros from his nations funding of trans-European transport networks to be used for Galileo.
Under consideration as a joint program of the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA), Galileo would complement GPS, adding another 30 satellites that would broadcast similar signals in frequencies at or near those used by the U.S. system.
A decision to fund development and implementation of the system, estimated to cost 3.4 billion Euros, was scheduled for a European Transport Council meeting March 27, following the groups failure to agree to the plan in December.
At a March 16 meeting in Barcelona, European heads of state welcomed Galileo progress and urged the Transport Council to take the necessary decisions regarding funding and launching of the programme and setting-up of the Joint Undertaking, in cooperation with the ESA.
In addition to being expected to bring additional pressure on other nations, including the United Kingdom and The Netherlands, that had demurred on the Galileo issue in December, Germanys action prompted another effort by the United States to discourage approval of Galileo.
In a statement released on March 7, the State Department noted, The United States Government sees no compelling need for Galileo, because GPS is expected to meet the needs of users around the world for the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, should Europe decide to go forward with Galileo, the United States would be interested in cooperation to ensure that Galileo is interoperable with GPS and benefits users on both sides of the Atlantic.
The U.S. statement elicited a response from the chief European Commission (EC) spokesperson, Jonathan Faull, who observed, On the compelling need, that is a matter for Europe, not for the United States, obviously. We are absolutely convinced that there is a real need for the Galileo system. It is not in our interest, we don't believe it is in the wider interest either, to have only one system, Faull said at a news briefing.
