EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/293

(2004/C 84 E/0340)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4078/03

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(14 January 2004)

Subject: Galileo

Newpaper reports (The Guardian, 8 December 2003) allege that ‘European negotiators have bowed to US pressure over plans to develop the rival system, in a move that will ensure GPS retains advantages over the European system.’

It is claimed that European officials have agreed to change the signal in such a way that the US will be able to jam Galileo without interfering with its own GPS signals.

It is further claimed that Galileo's performance will now be markedly reduced ‘potentially making the service only accurate to within eight miles’. This compares, it is said, to a GPS signal accuracy of around three miles and the one mile accuracy originally envisaged for Galileo.

Will the Commission comment on these reports, and estimate the likely effect of such changes upon the marketing of Galileo services and the possible loss of significant financial opportunities?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(25 March 2004)

Satellite navigation systems transmit signals which are open to all users (known as the Open Service in the case of Galileo) and secure signals (the Public Regulated Service in the case of Galileo). It is technically possible to jam non-military signals locally across a conflict zone, whether they are generated by the global positioning system (GPS) or by Galileo, while at the same time ensuring that they remain available outside that zone.

Jamming is carried out on the ground by the military forces themselves and does not interfere with the performance of the signals outside the conflict zone.

Regarding the performance of the Galileo open signals, discussions have been held to determine what the most effective standard would be for the open signals of both Galileo and the future GPS III with a view to providing the best service to users. These discussions were intended to ensure full interoperability between the two systems and will, de facto, lead to a global standard for satellite navigation. Furthermore, the solution adopted will enable Galileo to improve on the US solution, while at the same time achieving interoperability between the two systems and enhancing Galileo's performance compared with GPS. The target positioning performances, of the order of the metre, are six to ten times superior to current GPS performances, and this is fully compatible with a business plan based on the marketing of the Galileo services. The willingness of the United States to use the same frequencies as Galileo for open and commercial signals is to be welcomed, as it will give a decisive boost to the European programme being used worldwide.

Galileo will be in a position to provide signals for the open service, the safety-of-life service and the commercial service; these signals, which will be just as powerful as those envisaged prior to the launching of discussions with the United States, will also be consistent with the needs of national security. Improvements will constantly be made to the performance of these signals; consequently, the Galileo business plan is in no way being called into question.