Parliament clears the way for Galileo

Galileo: to be in service by 2013.

Approval by the Parliament was the final political hurdle for the system, which only a year ago looked like being abandoned after a consortium of private technology firms backed out of the project.

The European Commission salvaged the project by proposing to take the deployment phase, due for completion in 2013, public, a move that will cost European taxpayers €3.4 billion.

“The Parliament has to represent the interests of European taxpayers,” said MEP Etelka Barsi-Pataky. A large majority of MEPs from across the political spectrum concluded that Galileo is in EU citizens’ interests.

“This will be the first infrastructure in Europe that is commonly built and jointly owned. During the political discussions on Galileo, the European Parliament has always strongly suggested that this strategic project should be managed as a political priority,” Barsi-Pataky said in a statement issued shortly after the vote.

The Parliament’s support for the new shape of the Galileo project will allow private firms to help fund the exploitation phase after 2013. They will also be called on to help build the system as contractors, rather than joint owners as initially planned.

The Parliament proposed a few changes that will ensure that Galileo will not invade people's privacy. Far more accurate than the GPS (geo-positioning system) being operated by the US at present, Galileo could be used to track people without them knowing. The Parliament insisted that data protection guarantees be built into the Galileo system from the start.

This Sunday the second of five test satellites, called GIOVE–B, will be launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. These satellites will test space and ground infrastructure, and will then become part of the 30-strong constellation of Galileo satellites when the system goes live in 2013.