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The European Union and the USA concluded an agreement on the GALILEO and GPS satellite navigation systems at the end of a joint summit in Ireland. The agreement on the promotion, provision and use of the two satellite-based navigation systems and related applications will allow each system to work alongside the other without interfering with its counterpart's signals.
European Commission vice-president Loyola de Palacio said: "This agreement will allow the European project GALILEO to become the world standard for civil and commercial use of satellite navigation; it will offer the best possible level of services to all users".
The deal comes after more than four years of talks and wrangling. GALILEO will not need to rely on a "GALILEO-only" user community; instead it will be instantly accessible and used by the millions of people who already use GPS. GALILEO is the first civil system specifically dedicated to civil users.
After the current development phase (two satellites under construction will be launched by the end of 2005 and two shortly after), the deployment of the remaining 24 satellites (and related ground stations) is expected by 2008, the date at which the system should start operation.
The total cost of Galileo amounts to EUR3.2bn - EUR1.1bn for the development phase (2002-2005), fully financed by the public sector (half by ESA and half by the commission) and EUR2.1bn for the deployment phase (2006-2007). The operation is to be co-financed by the private (the concession holder) and public sectors (the EC).
