Transport ministers call for negotiations on Galileo to resume
Meeting in Brussels on 22 March, EU transport ministers called upon the consortium of eight companies bidding to run the EU's satellite navigation programme Galileo, to resume negotiations by no later than 10 May. The ministers said they expected to see 'substantial progress' in the negotiations, and a 'credible roadmap' by the time the Council meets again in June. Ministers also called on the European Commission to draw up alternative scenarios for delivering Galileo, for the June meeting. The statement follows a letter from the Commission's Vice- President Jacques Barrot on 14 March, in which he also urged an end to the deadlock in negotiations. The letter stipulates 10 May as the deadline for the companies to set up a single company structure for Galileo and appoint its CEO. The official signature of the terms of the contract should take place by 15 September, it states. Galileo's design and early development has been funded by the EU and the European Space Agency. Already the project has launched the first four satellites of the constellation. Since 2005, the Galileo Joint Undertaking and GNSS Supervisory Authority have been in concession negotiations with the bidding consortium. Initially, it was expected that by 2009, the private concession would be ready to take over the running of the project, build and launch the remaining 26 satellites, and manage the constellation for the next 20 years. However, in January 2007, these talks broke down, in part, over the share of the workload and the internal management of the consortium. This has delayed the signing of the Heads of Term (contractual agreement), which was scheduled for December 2006. There is concern that these setbacks may jeopardise the delivery of the project, which is envisaged for 2011 or 2012, and increase costs beyond the estimated budget. The bidding consortium includes some of Europe's leading aerospace and telecommunication companies: AENA, Alcatel-Lucent, EADS, Finmeccanica, Hispasat, Inmarsat, TeleOP, Thales SA.