Council resolution

of 5 April 2001

on Galileo

(2001/C 157/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Commission communication of 22 November 2000 and the results published to date of the definition phase initiated by the Council resolution of 19 July 1999(1),

Considering that one of the strategic advantages of Galileo is its contribution to the development of greater European cohesion,

- refers to the conclusions by the European Council in Cologne, Feira, Nice and Stockholm,

- draws attention to its resolution of 16 November 2000 on a European space strategy, and to the European Space Agency (ESA) resolution adopted on 20 December 2000 on the ESA's contribution to Galileo,

- points out that Galileo is a civil programme under civil control,

- considers it important for Europe to be independent in this field, in view of:

- the considerable prospects offered by the use of navigation satellite technology,

- the risks involved in the dependence of numerous public and private activities on systems over which Europe can have no control,

- the advantages that this system will have to offer as regards redundancy, interoperability, complementarity and guaranteed service,

- emphasises that the project must be developed on the basis of a thorough analysis of costs and benefits,

- agrees in principle on aiming for a fully operating system at the latest in 2008.

The Council agrees on the following arrangements that contain the necessary components for launching the development phase of the Galileo project as the next step:

1. The Council agrees, under the conditions outlined in and on the basis of the Commission communication of November 2000, that financing will be provided approximately equally by Community appropriations and by the ESA. Financing up to EUR 100 million for the year 2001 will be immediately released after this resolution in compliance with the mechanisms of the Financial Regulation concerning the TEN. A decision on the release of the remaining (i.e. EUR 450 million) TEN's budget appropriations will be taken by the Council in December 2001 together with a decision to set up an entity in charge of the management of the project.

2. Effective political control of Galileo and EGNOS(2) by the Community and the Member States must be guaranteed on appropriate legal bases. The Commission, in close cooperation with the ESA, must guarantee the unicity of the administration and the financial control of the project. The involvement of users fora, non-member countries and private partners must be taken into account in its design. Practical arrangements should guarantee balanced participation by all Member States in all phases of the programme, so that it will have a truly European dimension.

The establishment of the abovementioned entity in charge of the project is eventually needed for the management, administration and the financial control of the project. The advantages and disadvantages of the following options will have to be analysed by the Council, be it a joint undertaking following Article 171 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, an agency or any other suitable formula, in the light of the proposal the Commission is intending to present. The Commission in close cooperation with the ESA will submit proposals for its statutes and, in particular, its organisation, its administration, its staff and its financing, to the Council at the earliest opportunity, and the Council will have to take a decision in December 2001.

As soon as possible a temporary management structure will be put into place by the Commission, in close cooperation with the ESA, which will function until the establishment of the entity in charge of the project. This temporary structure will be made up of representatives of the Commission who will guarantee the general coordination of the programme and the ESA which will guarantee the technical set-up. It will work in close cooperation with Member States through the ESA's Navigation Programme Board and the Commission's Galileo Steering Committee.

3. All phases of the programme development will be based on transparent and sound financial management. The European Council, at successive meetings, confirmed the aim of securing finance largely from private sources, lastly in its conclusions of Stockholm, stating that the private sector is required to take up the challenge with regard to participation in and financing of the project through a binding commitment for the deployment phase. Since private participation through a public-private partnership is a fundamental element for the success of the Galileo programme, the private sector must also be involved in the execution and operation of the project in order to maximise management efficiency and business opportunities and to incorporate private funds through fair risk sharing.

To that end, the Council invites the Commission:

- to draw up, in close cooperation with the ESA, a detailed definition initiative, a clear statement of missions requirements, such as performances at least equivalent to existing global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), optimised interoperability and redundancy with other systems, no common failure modes, integrity at all latitudes, compatibility with existing navigation systems, a continuity of service in crisis situations, compatibility with intellectual property rights mechanism by June 2001,

- to draw up a clear statement of project objectives in close cooperation with the ESA, together with the ongoing independent consolidation of the cost benefit analysis, resulting in a report to the Council by June 2001,

- to launch, as soon as possible, a tendering process giving a perspective of all the phases of the project in order to enable the longer term development of the private sector involvement in the project to identify the commercial and public services to be provided by Galileo, to specify the revenue flows that they could generate and the accompanying measures required to bring this about. This will also help to clarify the conditions for the longer term commitment by the private sector. The result of the tender evaluation shall be available early in November 2001 to serve as a basis for a decision by the Council before the end of 2001. This decision shall also define the maximum available Community funds for the deployment and operational phases(3). Subject to that decision, the entity in charge of the management of the Galileo project shall take transparent and non-discriminatory measures necessary for the private sector to enter into a firm financial commitment allowing it to participate in the deployment phase before the end of 2003. The decision by the Council to launch the deployment phase will, as agreed by successive European Councils, require funding largely by the private sector; in this context, the Council notes the Commission's opinion that during the operational phase no contributions from Community funds will be required.

4. The preliminary definition of the services has to be endorsed by the Council in June 2001 as an important element of the initial tendering process. This definition should also enable the development of the public-private partnership. The consolidation and final selection of the services, after having consulted the relevant users fora, will be carried out to define the requirements to be met, the perimeter, the characteristics, the cost and the conditions of financing. The Council will take a decision not later than the end of 2003 on service options in conjunction with a decision to enter the deployment phase, taking into account the outcome of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC).

5. The security of Galileo is an important element of the programme. It must guarantee not only the continuity of service required in certain application fields, such as those affecting the safety of human life, but also those linked to access restrictions or even access denials decided by civil authorities in crisis situations. The related questions of legal responsibility must be clearly specified. A preliminary definition of the system's required level of security and the related cost will have to be submitted to the Council for examination and decided no later than the end of 2001 following the advice of the Galileo Steering Committee and the Galileo System Security Board.

6. Arrangements for the protection of personal privacy and liberties against misuse linked with the use of localisation data produced by the system must be defined and integrated into the detailed definition of the project.

7. The Galileo system will be designed so that it provides homogeneous services over the entire territory of the Member States of the Union, including the northern latitudes, by means of satellites in medium earth orbit. The optimal integration of EGNOS into the Galileo programme must be effected in close collaboration with the EOIG(4) in accordance with a transition programme that will be completed around 2015. To that end a detailed proposal concerning the technical, operational, financial and institutional aspects of that integration will have to be submitted by the interested parties as soon as possible. As long as necessary, separate financial arrangements for Galileo and EGNOS have to be implemented.

8. The compatibility and interoperability of Galileo and the other satellite radio navigation systems (GPS and Glonass) must be insured at user level in order to offer a better and more robust service at world level by means of redundancy. The discussions begun with the United States and Russia should be intensified with a view to reaching a satisfactory agreement as soon as possible.

9. The Council encourages the continuation, under its political control, of the contacts with non-member States that are interested in contributing to the development of Galileo.

10. Active preparations must be made for WRC 2003 in order to consolidate the achievements of WRC 2000 by establishing the appropriate common approach for the Galileo spectrum.

11. The progress of the programme will be the subject of annual reports by the Commission to the Council. The first such report will be submitted to the Council in December 2001.

(1) OJ C 221, 3.8.1999, p. 1.

(2) EGNOS: European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System.

(3) No Member State shall be obliged to contribute through additional national funds.

(4) EOIG: EGNOS operators and infrastructure group.