Brussels, 10 Dec 2004
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: Moving to the deployment and operational phase of the European satellite radionavigation programme
Following a brief exchange of views, the Council adopted the following conclusions on the development and operational phases of the European Global Navigation Satellite System programmes:
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the implementation of the deployment and commercial operating phases of the European satellite radionavigation programme
The Council took note of a progress report on the state of play concerning a draft Regulation aiming at establishing a specific legal basis for the financing of the GALILEO programme and the financial management of the European GNSS programmes during the deployment and commercial operating phase. The final decision on this text, in particular on the amount of the Community contribution to the programme, can only be taken on the basis of the outcome of the debate on the future financial perspectives 2007 2013.
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
"Council conclusions on the deployment and operational phases of the European Global Navigation Satellite System programmes
Having regard to:
the previous resolutions and conclusions of the European Council and the Council with regard to the European Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), i.e. the GALILEO and EGNOS programmes, in particular the conclusions of 9 March 2004;
the Commission communication "Moving to the deployment and operational phases of the European satellite radionavigation programme", presented to the European Parliament and the Council on 7 October 2004;
THE COUNCIL
NOTES the results so far of the selection procedure for the future concession holder, carried out by the GALILEO Joint Undertaking;
NOTES that the following conditions for the move to the deployment and commercial operating phases of the system are met:
- an initial offer from the private sector amounting to a minimum of two third of the total costs of the deployment phase,
- the agreement with the United States establishing the basis for the interoperability between the European and the American systems and taking into account the concerns of both parties on national security and radio frequency compatibility,
- the definition of the management structures of the system by the adoption of Council Regulation 1321/2004 CE and of Joint action 2004/552/PESC,
- the decision on integrating the organisational and operational aspects of the EGNOS programme in the GALILEO programme;
AGREES the move to the deployment and operational phases of the European GNSS "GALILEO" programme subject to a risk allocation, including the final costs, acceptable to the public sector, and AGREES the continuation of the EGNOS programme in this framework;
. CONFIRMS the main characteristics of the system, in particular the services it will offer:
- an open service,
- a commercial service,
- a "Safety of Life service",
- a "Search and Rescue" service and
- a governmental service (known as "public regulated service (PRS)");
RECALLS that the use of the governmental service by the Member States will be on an optional basis and that the full operationalcosts of this service will be met by the users, on a non commercial basis; INVITES the Commission, with the help of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority, to develop a policy of access to PRS, subject to its adoption by the Council and to be implemented by the Supervisory Authority in order to ensure that there are sufficiently robust controls over access to PRS and UNDERLINES that PRS should be protected against unauthorised access to PRS services, items and technologies;
RECALLS that GALILEO is a civil programme under civil control, and consequently that any change to that principle would require examination in the framework of Title V/TEU and, in particular, articles 17 and 23 thereof;
TAKES NOTE of the Commission proposal for a Regulation on the implementation of the deployment and commercial operating phases of the European programme of satellite radionavigation; CONFIRMS its commitment for the deployment and commercial operating phases as referred to in paragraph 3, which will include a financial contribution of the European Union for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 to be defined in the light of the new financial perspective 2007 2013; and REITERATES that no Member State shall be obliged to contribute through additional national funds;
INVITES the European Commission, in close co operation with the European Space Agency, the GALILEO Joint Undertaking, the European GNSS Supervisory Authority, and the concession holder, to implement an aggressive strategy aiming at maximising the potential revenues, in particular those to be generated from the intellectual property rights acquired during the different phases of the programme while aiming at a broad use of the system;
INVITES the Commission to set up the European GNSS Supervisory Authority, step by step from the beginning of 2005, to undertake the priority tasks related to certification, standardisation, frequency allocation, security (initially in co operation with the Galileo Security Board in order to ensure continuity until the Authority's System Safety and Security Committee is operational) and the EGNOS operation; and to promote the wide use of satellite navigation within all sectors, possibly where appropriate through regulatory support;
ASKS the GALILEO Joint Undertaking to:
- finalise, by the end of February 2005 and under the control of the GALILEO Supervisory Board, the selection procedure,
- complete, under the control of the Supervisory Board and in co operation with the European GNSS Supervisory Authority, the negotiations for the concession contract in order for the concession contract to be signed in the course of 2005;
and ASKS the Commission to submit a reasoned analysis of the results of the negotiations, including on risk allocation and final costs, to the Council in good time prior to the signature of the contract by the European GNSS Supervisory Authority;
UNDERLINES that the future concession contract should foresee a suitable reimbursement mechanism of the public financial contributions to the deployment and commercial operating phases in case the profits made by the concession holder exceed a certain threshold in the long term;
NOTES the state of progress of the development phase and UNDERLINES the need, in the negotiations for industrial contracts, to restrict the amount of overcosts to the consequences directly linked with the delay incurred for the start of the development phase, as well as with the security and new signal requirements,
UNDERLINES the need to do the utmost, in the negotiations for the concession contract, to catch up after the delay in the start of the development phase with a view to beginning operation as from 2008;
WELCOMES the progress in the co operation with an increasing number of third countries to promote the European GNSS system, ENCOURAGES the Commission to further develop this co operation which will ensure the use of the system world wide and contribute to the financing of the deployment and commercial operating phases, whilst continuing to take due account with the system safety and security and transfer of items and technology, and INVITES the Commission to pursue the technical discussions with third countries in parallel with the process of ratification of the agreements signed with them;
URGES the Commission to submit without delay a proposal to facilitate the exchange of classified information between participants, in particular in the context of industrial security.
From Presidency press conference
Galileo
This morning's second major subject was Galileo. We have decided, under certain conditions, to move on to the construction of this satellite-navigation system and the operational phase which will follow. The conditions are mainly financial in nature. Total costs may not become too great and there must also be a fair division of public-private funding. Two thirds of the costs must be funded by private businesses, as previously agreed in the Council. We established that private parties can comply with this.
This constitutes a decision of great European significance. Navigation by satellite is increasing in importance. European citizens and businesses are increasingly becoming involved with satellite location technologies, such as in cars. For many sectors, precise determination of time is even more important. With Galileo, Europe will be ready for this future.
The first satellites will be launched at the end of next year. Mr Barrot has agreed to attend the naming ceremony of these satellites in Noordwijk, in the Netherlands, next summer. I am already looking forward to it.
http:///ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pr essData/en/trans/83037.pdf