Galileo will be crucial to goals of transport White Paper, says Commission
A Commission representative speaking at a conference on the Commission's White Paper on European transport policy for 2010 said that the creation of a European satellite navigation system, Galileo, will play an important role in achieving the document's goals. Heinz Hilbrecht, Director of Inland Transport for the European Commission's Energy and Transport DG, told the audience of the 31 January event that there is an urgent need to move ahead with the Galileo satellite navigation system. The first phase of the project has been stalled by the reticence of some EU Member States to commit to the funding required for the project. Mr Hilbrecht told CORDIS News that Galileo will be crucial to realising many of the aims set out in the White Paper, by enabling the creation of driver assistance systems to increase safety and reduce congestion and improving the efficiency of both rail and maritime transport. The White Paper, approved by the Commission in September 2001, presents a total of 60 measures aimed at making European transport sustainable by 2010. The document proposes a shift in emphasis from the roads to rail and sea transport and the encouragement of transport inter-modality in order to reduce the pressures of pollution and accidents on Europe's already congested roads. It also proposes measures aimed at improving road safety and the introduction of fair pricing for the use of the transport infrastructure and fuel taxation.