De Palacio urges decision on Galileo launch
The Vice-President of the Commission responsible for energy and transport, Loyola de Palacio, has called for a 'much-needed' decision to be made on the launch of the European satellite navigation project, Galileo. Addressing the Norwegian polytechnic association in Oslo on 7 February, Ms de Palacio said that despite efforts by the European Council to stress the strategic importance of Galileo, 'a much needed final decision to launch the project has yet to come.' The Commission Vice-President added that 'Galileo will provide considerable advantages in many sectors of the economy,' particularly road and rail transport, where it will become possible to predict and manage journey times, and fisheries, agriculture, oil prospecting and civil protection. Ms de Palacio emphasised that 'decision time has now come,' adding that she hoped 'the current uncertainty around the future of this strategic project will soon be dissipated by a clear political commitment of the EU leaders in Barcelona.'