spacetoday.net: Israel to join Galileo project

Posted: Thu, Mar 18, 2004, 10:57 AM ET (1557 GMT)
GalileoSat illustration

Israel has signed an agreement with the European Union to join the Galileo project, the latest country to participate in the satellite navigation venture. The agreement, signed by the European Commission's Director-General of Energy and Transport and Israel's Director-General of Industry, Trade, and Labor, will permit Israel to participate in the development of Galileo in exchange for taking a financial stake in the venture. Israel's contribution was not specified in the press release announcing the agreement, but news reports indicated that it would be in the range of €20-50 million (US$25-62 million). The agreement must still be ratified by the EU member states during a meeting in June. Galileo, initially developed as a European project to develop a satellite navigation system to rival America's GPS system, is becoming more international. In addition to Israel the EU has signed agreements with China and India and has reportedly been negotiating with several other countries.