European States Reach Agreement on Galileo Navigation System
By Patrick Donahue
April 7 (Bloomberg) -- European Union members reached agreement on the Galileo satellite project, crossing the ``final hurdle'' for the EU to begin granting orders to companies by the end of the year, the German government said.
The accord on Galileo, which is meant to compete with the U.S. Global Positioning System, represents a ``huge chance'' for the German aerospace industry, Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said today in a faxed statement after meeting with his EU counterparts in Luxembourg. The project still needs to passed by the European Parliament ``in the next few weeks,'' according to the statement.
The EU took control of the 4.5 billion-euro ($7 billion) Galileo project last year after a private-sector group abandoned it. The European Space Agency will begin offering contracts this year and Galileo will begin operating in 2013, Tiefensee said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: April 7, 2008 08:07 EDT
By Patrick Donahue
April 7 (Bloomberg) -- European Union members reached agreement on the Galileo satellite project, crossing the ``final hurdle'' for the EU to begin granting orders to companies by the end of the year, the German government said.
The accord on Galileo, which is meant to compete with the U.S. Global Positioning System, represents a ``huge chance'' for the German aerospace industry, Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said today in a faxed statement after meeting with his EU counterparts in Luxembourg. The project still needs to passed by the European Parliament ``in the next few weeks,'' according to the statement.
The EU took control of the 4.5 billion-euro ($7 billion) Galileo project last year after a private-sector group abandoned it. The European Space Agency will begin offering contracts this year and Galileo will begin operating in 2013, Tiefensee said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: April 7, 2008 08:07 EDT