Clash ahead over cost of EU satellite system

Ministers concerned at request for extra €1.9bn.

Transport ministers of the European Union, who are meeting in Brussels today (31 March), are to urge the European Commission to justify its request for nearly €2 billion extra for the Galileo satellite system. The ministers will also resist attempts by the Commission to take charge of Galileo systems that are to be used by police and security forces.

In January, Antonio Tajani, the European commissioner for industry, said that a further €1.9bn was needed to make the global satellite navigation system operational, on top of €3.4bn earmarked from the European Union’s 2007-13 budget.

Ministers will insist on seeing the detailed calculations and assumptions behind this estimate, and will defer approval to later in the year when the EU embarks on agreeing its next multi-year budget.

Austria, the Netherlands and the UK wanted to turn down any request for more money, but other countries with big satellite industries – France, Germany, Italy and Spain – are supportive of extra funding.

But all member states will unite behind a plea for the Commission to get a grip on costs and avoid future overruns. “We want to make sure that the budget complies with the current austerity drive and is not snowballing,” said one EU official.

National governments will also insist that Galileo is funded from the European Union budget. Reinhard Bütikofer, a German Green MEP and a member of the Parliament’s industry, research and energy committee, said MEPs from all groups had expressed their “uneasiness” over Council demands that the EU budget be used to pay for Galileo cost over-runs.

Competition

In a mid-term review of the project in January, the Commission said that the extra €1.9bn was needed because of the increased price of launchers and the lack of competition in awarding some of the contracts.

Ministers and the Commission seem set for a clash over rules for secure encrypted services that will be provided by Galileo for police, border control and other restricted services. Member states want a bigger say for national security experts over how the Public Regulated Services (PRS) will operate, but the Commission envisages stronger powers for itself.

Security

The Commission’s call for EU powers to enforce minimum security standards for the PRS system is backed by MEPs on the industry, research and energy committee, who on 15 March approved a preliminary position drafted by Norbert Glante, a German centre-left MEP.

MEPs said that the Commission was the institution best positioned to co-ordinate the system and to prevent security gaps in the PRS system. MEPs said the Commission should also determine the system of penalties in cases of non-compliance.

Member states are reluctant to give the Commission such powers over the encrypted system, which could be used for defence and security matters.

Bütikofer said MEPs were being “misled” about the real priorities for Galileo’s PRS, which he claimed would be used primarily for national military and defence purposes rather than civilian uses. He said member states had to set limits on the military use of space.

The Parliament is to hold a first round of talks with the Council of Ministers and the Commission on 11 April on the proposal. MEPs hope they can secure a first reading deal with the Council by the end of June and approve the rules to set up the PRS system in July.