Brussels, 12 Oct 2006
The Council adopted the following conclusions on the progress of the Galileo programme, elaborated on the basis of the Commission communication "Taking stock of the Galileo programme"1:
"Having regard to:
(1) the previous resolutions and conclusions of the European Council and the Council with regard to the GALILEO and EGNOS programmes, in particular the conclusions of 9 and 10 December 2004;
(2) the Commission communication taking stock of the GALILEO programme2,
THE COUNCIL
1. RECALLS that GALILEO is by definition a global civil navigation satellite programme under civil control and that it is under the control of the EU;
2. NOTES the progress of the development phase of the programme and URGES the Commission, the Galileo Joint Undertaking, the European GNSS Supervisory Authority and the European Space Agency to make every effort to ensure that the GALILEO system is fully operational by the end of 2010;
3. NOTES the information provided by the Commission on the status of the concession contract negotiations; UNDERLINES that both parties share the responsibility for a successful conclusion of the negotiations of the concession contract, which shall include the appropriate sharing of risks between the prospective concession holder and the European Union and the necessary financial arrangements;
1 See doc. 104/06 of June 2006. The communication outlines the key components of this European project and includes an updated timetable for its implementation. 2 Doc. 104/06.
4. REQUESTS the Commission to keep it regularly up to date of the progress of the negotiations of the concession contract before the closure of the main chapters and to inform it of the Heads of Terms Agreement, as soon as it is available and so as to allow an in depth discussion in the appropriate formations of the Council and to keep it informed about the detailed contract negotiations as they proceed before signature by the European GNSS Supervisory Authority, particularly as regards the financial implications for the Community budget; and ASKS the Commission to bring forward a detailed reasoned analysis, to accompany the information on the Heads of Terms Agreement, in which the economic and strategic value and affordability for the EU will be assessed;
5. RECOGNISES that the concession, if granted, will lead to contractual commitments for the Community throughout its entire duration of 20 years, and will require the establishment of special financing mechanisms; and ASKS the Commission to pursue actively its work on these special financing instruments, within the framework of the Financial Regulation 1, and to report on the elements which might therefore be included in the proposed European GNSS Financial Regulation, as soon as the precise implications of the Heads of Terms Agreement or the proposed concession contract for the Community budget are known;
6. ASKS the Commission to actively pursue its work on developing the policy for access to the Public Regulated Service (PRS), allowing in particular the definition of the conditions under which Member States will organise and manage their user groups, on the basis of the preparatory work already carried out, and to submit its proposals in due time for the deliberation and approval by the Council, following a timetable which would allow the PRS to be used as of the end of 2010; and REITERATES that the use of the governmental service by the Member States will be on an optional basis and that the full operational costs of this service will be met by the users, on a non commercial basis;
7. ENCOURAGES the full establishment of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority, the Community Agency that manages the public interests relating to EGNOS and GALILEO; WELCOMES the Commission's legislative proposals aiming to transfer during 2006 to that Authority the remaining activities of the Galileo Joint Undertaking, which will be wound up; and AIMS to reach an agreement on the proposals before the end of 2006;
1 Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (Official Journal L 248 , 16/09/2002 P. 0001 0048)
8. CONFIRMS the need to reach an agreement on the seat of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority in order to ensure its efficient functioning;
9. ASKS the Commission to provide a master plan of the European GNSS programmes, for the whole lifetime of the programmes, covering system operations, service provision, certification, evolutions, management, costs and funding scheme; and UNDERLINES that the master plan for EGNOS shall be available before the transfer of EGNOS from the European Space Agency to the European GNSS Supervisory Authority;
10. RECALLS the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council Conclusions of June 2003 regarding the integration of EGNOS into the Galileo programme; and ENCOURAGES the European GNSS Supervisory Authority to conclude with all concerned parties as soon as possible the agreement mentioned in Regulation (EC) No 1321/2004 (Article 3, paragraph 3.);
11. RECOGNISES the crucial role played in the conception and the development of the European GNSS programmes and the technical know how possessed by the European Space Agency (ESA); and UNDERLINES the need to continue to co operate with ESA, in particular as regards technical and scientific matters, also during the next stages of the development of the programme;
12. UNDERLINES the importance of an effective governance framework in which the interactions between the policy definition, the policy oversight, the financial and the technical management and all associated responsibilities of the programme are clear and efficient, taking into account also the need of ensuring the safety and the security of the system; and ASKS the Commission, in view of the experience gained, to examine in detail and report consequently on the effectiveness and suitability of the governance framework which has been established to manage all the tasks stemming from the GALILEO programme, particularly as regards the appropriate management of Galileo missions definition and specifications including their implementation and the effective implementation of measures relating to the safety and security of the system in accordance with the Council Decisions and in the light of the European Union's international commitments as well as its forthcoming contractual relations with the concession holder;
13. UNDERLINES the importance of promoting the European satellite radionavigation system in order to achieve commercial success, particularly by research activities; RECOGNISES that the largest proportion of the economic benefits of GALILEO comes primarily from the downstream applications; ASKS the Commission to ensure that a fair public procurement policy for GALILEO will create a level playing field in which all Member States have access to the economic benefits of Galileo; and WELCOMES the Commission's intention to publish a Green Paper on GALILEO applications before the end of 2006;
14. INVITES the Commission, in consultation with the European GNSS Supervisory Authority and the Council bodies competent in security matters, to draw up, taking account of the input from the Galileo Security Board, a control regime for transfer of sensitive GALILEO specific items and technology and intellectual property rights to third parties as soon as possible; this control regime shall be in line with the existing export control and non proliferation mechanisms in the European Union Member States preventing transfer of sensitive items and technology;
15. RECOGNISES the importance of international cooperation for the success of the programme; and INTENDS on the basis of the information provided by the Commission to define the modalities for such cooperation at the session of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in December 2006."