Commission calls for EU strategy on GNSS
The German MEP Brigitte Langenhagen reported in the European Parliament on 12 January on a European Commission's Communication on an EU strategy on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Among other requests, she wanted the Commission to take all necessary measures to promote international cooperation in the field of GNSS. The European Commission is calling on the Member States to agree by early 1999 on the strategy the European Union should adopt with regard to GNSS. Since this is an expanding world market, which, according to the Communication could be worth $50 billion, the Commission considers that, in the long term, the ideal would be to cooperate with all the EU's international partners. To this end, it is calling on Member States to start consultations with the main international operators "with a view to studying the possibility of achieving an acceptable joint system." If this is not possible, the EU should aim for the establishment of an independent European GNSS, taking into account the technological developments which might substantially reduce the cost of development of such a system. The establishment of a European GNSS system would cost between 400 million euro and 400 billion euro, depending on quality, and the financing could be undertaken through a public/private partnership. Commissioner Neil Kinnock said that the EU's approach to the development of the GNSS was vitally important. Europe could decide to have no system at all. That might be the cheapest option, but only to the shortsighted. Such passivity would be immensely costly in the long-term and could leave the EU dependent on a system over which it had no control or even influence Brigitte Langenhagen, who represents the Transport Committee, requested Member States to convene a European Space Council at Head of State or Government level to give clear decisions on the strategic, technical and budgetary guidelines, and considered that Council should assess the desirability of holding a World Conference on the issue.