spacetoday.net: EU endorses public funding for Galileo

Posted: Sun, Jun 10, 2007, 10:52 AM ET (1452 GMT)
GIOVE-A satellite illustration (ESA)

European transportation ministers agreed Friday that the planned Galileo satellite navigation system would have to be funded entirely from public sources, rather than through a public-private partnership. The EU ministers, meeting Friday, did not agree on how the current shortfall in the program, estimated at €2.4 billion ($3.2 billion), should be filled, with proposals ranging from additional contributions from EU member nations to monday from the collective EU budget or through the European Space Agency. Galileo was originally intended to be a public-private partnership, with as much as two-thirds of the funding coming from private investors. However, those plans fell through last month when a deadline for a management plan was missed by the industry consortium that was to run Galileo. A final decision on a public funding plan is expected later this year.