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Galileo project must be saved with taxpayers' money
By Volker K. Thomalla
The squabbling over the European satellite navigation system, Galileo, has caused the European Commission to pull the emergency brakes and take control of the project back into its own hands. Despite having been asked to do so several times by the politicians, the Galileo industry partners have been unable to make up their minds and agree a final solution to the problems. One of the problems was the distribution of workshares among the participants. Another problem was the management structure. This provided that decisions within the consortium had to be unanimous. In the view of the German Minister of Transport, Wolfgang Tiefensee, this has rendered the consortium incapable of conducting its affairs effectively and of making decisions. Now the politicians have stepped in and ended the crisis. Whether the consortium partners have only been playing poker or whether they have deliberately relinquished the project is not clear. But one thing is clear: they have not done themselves any favours by their actions.
The ambitious technology programme is already behind schedule. Originally it was to have been up and running in 2009. Whether it can now proceed under the supervision of the EU without delay remains to be seen. “We cannot afford any further delays, we have to be operational in 2012,” said the responsible EU Transport Commission, Jacques Barrot, in Brussels. The EU is clinging to Galileo in order to make navigation independent of the American GPS.
What is surprising about the latest turn of events is that, thanks to the failure of the public-private partnership concept, Galileo will now cost up to two billion euros less. The space companies needed for the partnership were relying on a guaranteed return, which they will now lose, and they also wanted interest on their investment, which will now go by the board as well. On the basis of the latest calculations, the EU is assuming that the total cost of the satellite navigation system will be three billion euros. This cost will now be borne by the taxpayers of the participating countries. This is a good investment, as Galileo signifies an important step forward in satellite navigation technology. Moreover, Galileo will be able to position itself in an attractive market. Forecasts for the year 2020 envisage a satellite navigation market worth between 20 and 30 billion euros. According to the German Minister of Transport, Galileo could create 150,000 jobs in Europe alone.
With the failure of the present Galileo concept, European industry has further strengthened the hands of critics and competitors of European industry who emphasise its inability to cooperate. The time for national animosities in European aerospace should have been well over by now. The reasons for the failure of the public-private partnership for Galileo will be analysed at length in the USA and in other potential export markets. This analysis is then bound to make its way into the forthcoming decisions about joint projects and cooperation programmes.
From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 7/2007
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