European agreement on development of GNSS
The European Commission has asked the Council to approve the agreement negotiated between the European Community, the European Space Agency and Eurocontrol, the European Organization for Safety of Air Navigation, on a European contribution on the development of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). The aim of the agreement is to establish cooperation between the three parties with a view to providing a European contribution to the development of a GNSS. This effort would place Europe in a position to provide a satellite navigation system which would satisfy the requirements of civil users independently of other means of radio navigation and positioning. Under the agreement, the European contribution would include: - The development and validation of an operational capability of a European contribution to GNSS 1 (the existing system based on US and Russian military systems); - Coordination of actions of each party for the attainment of a full operational capability of GNSS 1; - In parallel, preparatory work for the definition and design of GNSS 2 (the future worldwide civil navigation system, to be internationally controlled and managed). The agreement sets out the tasks to be undertaken by each party within the three areas above. In particular, the agreement addresses the development of EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, a major component in Europe's augmentation of GNSS 1. For the Community's part, the major tasks to be carried out fall within the trans-European transport networks (TENs) and the RTD Framework Programme. The agreement will enter into force following approval by all three parties. For the Community, approval is required by the European Parliament and the Council.