Agreement between the European Community, the European Space Agency and the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation on a European Contribution to the development of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)
Date: 1998-06-18
Institutions: Eurocontrol, European Community, European Space Agency
Subjects: Eurocontrol, European Space Agency, agreement (EU), institutional cooperation, multilateral agreement, satellite navigation

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AGREEMENT

between the European Community, the European Space Agency and the European
Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation on a European Contribution to the
development of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereafter referred to as the ‘Community’, represented by

and

THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY, established by the Convention of the European Space Agency opened
for signature in Paris on 30 May 1975 (hereafter referred to as ‘ESA’), represented by Antonio Rodotà, Direc-
tor-General,

and

THE EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR THE SAFETY OF AIR NAVIGATION, established by the
Convention relating to Cooperation for the Safety of Air Navigation of 13 December 1960, as amended by
the Protocol of 12 February 1981 (hereafter referred to as ‘Eurocontrol’), represented by Yves Lambert, Dir-
ector-General,

(hereafter collectively referred to as ‘the Parties’),

TAKING NOTE that studies on navigation by satellite are evolving from research to the definition of an
operational application system and that these have reached a sufficient degree of maturity for a European
contribution to a global navigation satellite system thereby enhancing the involvement of European industry
in this field;

TAKING NOTE of the interest expressed by European Governments in a European contribution to satellite
navigation as expressed on the occasion of the European Civil Aviation Conference meeting of 10 June
1994;

HAVING REGARD to the communication from the Commission of the European Communities (hereafter
referred to as the ‘Commission’) on satellite navigation services of 14 June 1994, the European Parliament
Resolution of 13 November 1994, the Resolution of the Council of the European Union of 19 December
1994 on the European contribution to the development of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), the
conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 14 March 1995, inviting the European Commission to
contribute to the implementation of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS 1) by taking all necessary
measures for the leasing of the AOR-E and IOR Inmarsat III transponders, and Decision No 1692/96/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development
of the trans-European transport network;

HAVING REGARD to the ESA Council’s approval of this Agreement on 24 June 1997 under Article 14(1)
of the Convention of the European Space Agency;

HAVING REGARD to Measure 83/22 taken by the Eurocontrol Permanent Commission on 31 January
1995, pursuant to Article 11 of the Convention relating to Cooperation for the Safety of Air Navigation, as
amended on 12 February 1981;

RECOGNIZING the necessity of coordinating further their activities in order to ensure the credibility and
effectiveness of a European involvement in this domain, in particular with regard to the development of a
satellite navigation system using Inmarsat III navigation payloads for which the Parties submitted a proposal
entitled the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) which was accepted by the
Inmarsat Council on 21 November 1994 and also on 15 November 1995,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

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Article 1

Purpose

The purpose of
this Agreement shall be to establish
cooperation between the Parties with a view to providing
a European contribution to the development of a Global
Navigation Satellite System. That concerted effort shall be
aimed at placing Europe in a position to allow provision
for a satellite navigation service which, as far as prac-
ticable, satisfies the requirements of civil users for opera-
tional use independently of other means of radio naviga-
tion and position.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Agreement:

‘Global Navigation Satellite System’ hereafter referred to
as ‘GNSS’ means a satellite-based worldwide position-,
velocity-, and time-determination system which fulfils on
a permanent basis potential user requirements for civil
applications.

‘GNSS 1’: means an initial
implementation of GNSS,
based upon the existing United States of America and
Russian military satellite navigation systems, augmented
by civil systems, designed to provide the user with suffi-
cient independent monitoring of the whole system.

‘GNSS 2’: means a worldwide civil navigation satellite
system to be internationally controlled and managed,
which meets the requirements of all categories of users
for position, velocity and time determination.

‘European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service’
(EGNOS): means a European augmentation of existing
satellite navigation and positioning systems, using geosta-
tionary satellites with the aim of enhancing the perfor-
mance of these systems over Europe and providing a
capability over the whole geostationary broadcast areas.
EGNOS is a European component of GNSS 1.

Article 3

Scope

The scope of cooperation between the Parties is covered
by this Agreement and further detailed in Annexes I and
II. It covers the following activities:

(a) the development and validation of an operational
capability of a European contribution to GNSS 1,
using existing satellite systems and any appropriate
augmentation to fulfil users requirements;

(c) in parallel with GNSS 1, preparatory work for the

definition and design of GNSS 2.

Article 4

The Parties’ contributions to GNSS 1

The Parties shall take the appropriate measures, in ac-
cordance with their respective rules and procedures, and
shall use their best endeavours, to contribute in due time
to GNSS 1 as specified in Annex II, as follows:

(a) ESA shall contribute through the implementation of
its Advanced Research in Telecommunication Systems
(ARTES) Programme, in particular element 9, which
includes the technical developments of EGNOS and
its operation for
testing and technical validation
purposes;

(b) Eurocontrol shall provide the civil-aviation user re-
quirements and validate the resulting system in the
these requirements. Eurocontrol shall also
light of
support the European efforts to ensure that GNSS 1 is
operationally acceptable for civil aviation;

(c) the Community shall contribute to the consolidation
of the requirements of all users and to the validation
of the resulting system in the light of such require-
ments, in particular in the framework of its Trans-
European Networks and Research and Development
actions, without prejudice to legislation on the tech-
those on
nical harmonisation procedures
aircraft and air traffic management equipment.

such as

The Community shall, in particular, also provide for
the establishment of EGNOS by taking all appropriate
measures, including the leasing of geostationary trans-
ponders.

Article 5

Working arrangements between the Parties

1.
To ensure progressive development of their coopera-
the
tion, a Joint Tripartite Committee composed of
Parties is hereby set up with the objective of monitoring
the implementation of this Agreement and formulating
guidelines and coordinating common approaches towards
the realisation of this Agreement. The Joint Tripartite
least once a year or more
Committee shall meet at
frequently,
the
the request of one of
if necessary, at
Parties, and shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

The Joint Tripartite Committee shall be assisted by
2.
a Secretariat to provide day-to-day administrative support
and, upon request, organise technical support. The Parties
shall undertake, in accordance with their respective rules
and procedures, to contribute jointly to such administra-
tive support.

(b) coordination of each Party’s actions for the attainment

of a full operational capability of GNSS 1;

The Joint Tripartite Committee shall carry out the

3.
tasks specified in this Agreement, by:

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(a) exchanging information on the progress made in acti-
this Agreement and
vities related to the scope of
exchanging
results
emanating from the contributions of the Parties under
this Agreement;

documentation and

relevant

(b) inviting representatives from each of the Parties to
participate in meetings relating to those activities
which form the basis of this Agreement;

(c) exchanging information and coordinationg, as far as
possible, before contacts with non-European third
parties when such contacts are relevant to this Agree-
ment;

(d) formulating proposals towards arrangements necessary
for the future operational service of positioning and
navigation;

(e) submitting proposals for the organisation of the Secre-

tariat support.

4.
Any modification or update on the technical
contents of Annexes I and II which have no impact on
the scope of this Agreement, especially on its financial
and operational provisions, may be approved by the Joint
Tripartite Committee, by a unanimous decision.

Article 6

Exchange of information and disclosure

1.
Each Party shall exchange with the other Parties all
information at its disposal which may be required for the
implementation of this Agreement, subject to its own
rules on exchange of information.

2.
Except as otherwise provided, no Party shall disclose
any information exchanged in connection with this
Agreement to any person other than those employed by
them or officially entitled to handle such information
(including the Member States of each organisation) nor
use it
for commercial purposes. Such disclosure shall
extend only so far as may be necessary for the purpose of
this Agreement and shall be in strict confidence.

Article 7

Rights and properties

1.
Each Party shall, in accordance with its own rules
and procedures, administer or retain the property and
commercial rights in the software, equipment and docu-
mentation which it has financed and developed within
the framework of its own activities in implementing this
Agreement.

2.
Specific arrangements between the Parties may be
required for joint developments made for the purpose of
this Agreement.

Article 8

Financial arrangements

1.
Each Party shall ensure that the appropriate finan-
cial arrangements are made in good time and in ac-

cordance with its own procedures, in order to discharge
its own responsibilities under
and
Annexes.

this Agreement

Upon completion of the EGNOS testing and tech-
2.
nical validation, new financial arrangements shall be
required to be in place.

Article 9

Contract authority and procedures

All contracts that are required for the implementation of
this Agreement and are concluded by one party shall be
concluded in accordance with the normal procedures of
that Party, without prejudice to Article 7(2).

Article 10

Liability

The Parties hereby agree that, with respect to activi-
1.
ties undertaken pursuant
to this Agreement, no Party
shall make any claim against any other Party with respect
to injury or death of its employees, or any person acting
on its behalf, or with respect to damage of any kind to or
loss of its property, caused by any of the Parties, whether
such injury, death, damage or loss arises through negli-
gence or otherwise, except in the case of gross negligence
or wilful misconduct.

In the event of a claim from a third party resulting
2.
from the Parties’
respective
contributions as specified in Annex II, each Party shall be
liable only to the extent that the claim relates to that
Party’s contribution.

implementation of

their

3.
The parties hereby agree that only the Party that has
contracted with a third party in the context of the execu-
tion of the Parties’ contributions as specified in Annex II
shall be liable for any claims from that third party res-
ulting from the contract in question.

Article 11

Force majeure

No Party shall be considered in breach of this Agreement
if any failure to provide its contribution hereunder arises
from or is caused by force majeure.

Article 12

Public relations

1.
Each Party shall undertake to coordinate with the
others in advance concerning its own or joint public-
relations activities relating to subjects covered by this
Agreement.

In all relevant media activities, the role of each Party
clearly identified and

shall be

2.
in this Agreement
mentioned.

The

detailed

3.
implementing
arrangements
public-relations activities provided for in this Article shall
be adopted jointly.

for

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Article 13

Amendments

This Agreement shall be amended only by unani-

1.
mous written agreement of the Parties.

2.
Should any Party encounter problems in the course
of its respective contribution, including financial contri-
bution, the Parties agree to examine, in the framework of
the Joint Tripartite Committee, ways of achieving the
planned contributions and review, to the extent necessary,
the objectives and the content of this Agreement.

The arbitrators’ decisions shall be taken by majority

4.
vote.

Each party to the dispute shall take the appropriate

5.
steps required to implement the arbitrators’ decisions.

Article 16

Annexes

This Agreement contains Annexes I and II which shall
form an integral part hereto. Article 5(4) contains the
procedure for
the
Annexes.

the updating and modification of

Article 14

Article 17

Participation by third parties

Entry into force and termination

This Agreement may be opened to participation by other
parties that are able to contribute to the fulfilment of the
tasks under this Agreement. Amendments in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 13 shall then be
made for that purpose.

This Agreement shall enter into force on the date on
1.
which the Parties sign it, and shall remain in force until
completion of the activities specified in Annexes I and II
or until such time as this Agreement
is replaced by
another cooperation agreement.

Article 15

Settlement of disputes

Any disputes which may arise between the parties
1.
relating to the interpretation or application of this Agree-
ment or its Annexes shall be submitted for direct negotia-
tions within the Joint Tripartite Committee.

If is is not possible to settle the dispute in ac-
2.
cordance with paragraph 1, any Party may notify the
others of
the other
the appointment of an arbitrator;
Parties shall then each appoint their own arbitrator within
two months.

The Joint Tripartite Committee shall appoint two

3.
additional arbitrators by unanimous decision.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, any Party may never-
theless terminate the Agreement upon completion of the
EGNOS technical and operational validation, by notifying
the other Parties of its intention six months in advance.

In the event of termination of the Agreement by
3.
one of the parties in accordance with paragraph 2, the
Parties shall agree on all appropriate measures to be
taken.

Article 18

Authentic texts

This Agreement is signed in three original copies in the
Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek,
Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish languages, each
text being equally authentic.

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En fe de lo cual, los abajo firmantes, debidamente facultados, han firmado el presente Acuerdo.

Til bekræftelse heraf har undertegnede befuldmægtigede underskrevet denne aftale.

Zu Urkund dessen haben die hierzu gehörig befugten Unterzeichneten dieses (cid:154)bereinkommen
unterzeichnet.

Pqor p˜istysg tym amyt ˜eqy, oi upocq ˜avomter, de ˜omtyr enousiodotgl ˜emoi, up ˜ecqaxam
tgm paqo ˜usa sulvym˜ia.

In witness whereof, the undersigned, duly empowered to that effect, have signed this Agreement.

En foi de quoi, les soussignés, dûment habilités, ont signé le présent accord.

In fede di che, i sottoscritti, debitamente autorizzati, hanno firmato il presente accordo.

Ten blijke waarvan de ondergetekenden, daartoe naar behoren gemachtigd, deze overeenkomst
hebben ondertekend.

Em fé do que, os abaixo assinados, devidamente autorizados para o efeito, assinam o presente
acordo.

Tämän vakuudeksi alla mainitut täysivaltaiset edustajat ovat allekirjoittaneet tämän sopimuksen.

Till bevis härpå har undertecknade befullmäktigade undertecknat detta avtal.

Hecho en Luxemburgo, el dieciocho de junio de mil novecientos noventa y ocho.

Udfærdiget i Luxembourg, den attende juni nitten hundrede og otteoghalvfems.

Geschehen zu Luxemburg am achtzehnten Juni neunzehnhundertachtundneunzig.

˜Ecime sto Kounelbo ˜uqco, stir dejaojt ˜y Ioum˜iou w˜ikia emmiaj ˜osia emem ˜gmta ojt ˜y.

Done at Luxembourg on the eighteenth day of June in the year one thousand nine hundred and
ninety-eight.

Fait à Luxembourg, le dix-huit juin mil neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit.

Fatto a Lussemburgo, addì diciotto giugno millenovecentonovantotto.

Gedaan te Luxemburg, de achttiende juni negentienhonderd achtennegentig.

Feito no Luxemburgo, em dezoito de Junho de mil novecentos e noventa e oito.

Tehty Luxemburgissa kahdeksantenatoista päivänä kesäkuuta vuonna tuhatyhdeksänsataayhdek-
sänkymmentäkahdeksan.

Som skedde i Luxemburg den artonde juni nittonhundranittioåtta.

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Por la Comunidad Europea
For Det Europæiske Fællesskab
Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft
Cia tgm Euqypaˇij ˜g Joim ˜otgta

For the European Community
Pour la Communauté européenne
Per la Comunità europea
Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
Pela Comunidade Europeia
Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
För Europeiska gemenskapen

Por la Agencia Espacial Europea
For Den Europæiske Rumorganisation
Für die Europäische Weltraumorganisation
Cia tgm Euqypaˇij ˜g Upgqes˜ia Diast ˜glator

For the European Space Agency
Pour l’Agence spatiale européenne
Per l’Agenzia spaziale europea
Voor het Europees Ruimteagentschap
Pela Agência Espacial Europeia
Euroopan avaruusjärjestön puolesta
För Europeiska rymdorganisationen

Por la Organización Europea para la Seguridad de la Navegación Aérea
For Den Europæiske Organisation for Luftfartssikkerhed
Für die Europäische Organisation zur Sicherung der Luftfahrt
Cia tom Euqypaˇij ˜o Oqcamisl ˜o cia tgm Asv ˜akeia tgr Aeqomautik˜iar

For the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
Pour l’Organisation européenne pour la sécurité de la navigation aérienne
Per l’Organizzazione europea per la sicurezza della navigazione aerea
Voor de Europese Organisatie voor de veiligheid van de luchtvaart
Pela Organizaç˜ao Europeia para a Segurança da Navegaç˜ao Aérea
Euroopan lentoturvallisuusjärjestön puolesta
För Europeiska organisationen för luftfartssäkerhet

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ANNEX I

1. Introduction

The scope of cooperation between the Parties, as set out in Article 3 of this Agreement, is detailed in the
activities below.

2. European contribution to GNSS 1: Article 3(a)

This contribution involves the development of augmentation systems to the current satellite-based radio-
navigation and positioning systems in order to meet civil user requirements (land, sea, air, and other non-
transport user requirements) over Europe and over the whole geostationary broadcast areas.

It is composed of the following major activities:

— identification of user requirements,

— development, testing, technical and operational validation of the European Geostationary Navigation
Overlay Service (EGNOS), which is a wide-area augmentation of existing satellite-based radio-
navigation and positioning systems, relying on the use of geostationary satellites, providing additional
satellite-ranging capability, integrity and wide-area differential information to users,

— additional augmentation (e.g. local area augmentation, receiver autonomous integrity monitoring, etc.),

— development, testing and validation of user equipment,

— certification of European GNSS 1 elements.

A more detailed description of the European contribution to GNSS 1 is provided in Annex II.

3. Transition to a full operational capability of GNSS 1: Article 3(b)

The Parties undertake to identify mechanisms to accomodate possible further inputs to attain a full opera-
tional capability of GNSS 1, which will require in particular additional space capacity.

4. Preparatory work for GNSS 2: Article 3(c)

The parties will liaise on preparatory work for the definition and design of GNSS 2, including studies for
the preparation of an in-orbit demonstration to be undertaken in the time-frame 1997-2000. Candidate
system configurations shall be studied to subsequently identify and initiate critical research and tech-
nology developments and carry out early trials of selected GNSS 2 concepts.

The preparatory work for GNSS 2 includes the following:

— mission definition (identification of additional user requirements, signal design requirements, demon-

stration system applications definition),

— system definition (system options, demonstration system design, definition of demonstration

programme),

— predevelopment activities in preparation of the GNSS 2 technology,

— development of an experimental navigation payload and the performance of system simulation tests

and in-orbit flight demonstrations,

— GNSS 2 architectural design (design of a complete navigation satellite system including its logistic and

operational aspects).

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ANNEX II

1. Introduction

This Annex provides a breakdown of the contributions of the Parties referred to in Article 4. They are
related to the design, development and implementation of EGNOS up to the completion of a first imple-
mentation phase involving the use of at least two geostationary navigation transponders. A description of
EGNOS is given below.

The EGNOS system is an augmentation of existing satellite-based radio-navigation and positioning
systems using geostationary satellites that will enhance the performance of these systems over Europe and
more generally over the whole geostationary broadcast area(s).

By using navigation transponders on geostationary satellites and processing data from a network of terres-
trial monitoring stations, EGNOS shall provide additional satellite ranging capability, service integrity and
wide area differential (WAD) correction data. The aim of the WAD service is to improve the accuracy of
existing satellite-based radio-navigation systems, in particular over Europe. The EGNOS system will
improve the overall satellite navigation service availability.

The EGNOS infrastructure will consist of:

— mission control centres (MCCs),

— navigation transponders on geostationary satellites,

— navigation land earth stations (NLESs) for accessing the navigation transponders,

— ranging and integrity monitoring stations (RIMSs),

— upgraded RIMSs for accurate orbit determination of the geostationary satellites hosting the navigation

transponders,

— a network of reference stations for verifying the integrity of the WAD corrections computed by

EGNOS. Simplified RIMSs will be used as reference stations.

2. ESA contribution

ESA shall contribute through the implementation of its ARTES programme, in particular Element 9
thereof.

In particular, ESA shall undertake the following activities:

— EGNOS project management,

— mission analysis and system definition,

— early trials,

— test and simulation,

— ranging-system development,

— integrity-system development,

— WAD system development,

— testing and technical validation of EGNOS, including provisions for ground communications and

MCCs running costs during the testing and validation period.

3. Eurocontrol contribution

Eurocontrol shall undertake, in the context of its satellite navigation applications activities and in close
cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the following:

— provision of civil aviation user requirements,

— operational testing and validation for civil aviation GNSS 1 users. This will include static ground
measurements, dedicated flight trials and data recording campaigns on commercial airliners,

— support to the European activities to ensure that GNSS is operationally acceptable for civil aviation.
This work shall be carried out with the widest cooperation possible within the civil aviation environ-
ment, including the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA).

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4. Community contribution

The Community shall undertake, in accordance with its relevant procedures in the context of the Trans-
European Network and the framework programmes on research and development, to contribute to the
following tasks:

— consolidation of user requirements relative to GNSS 1,

— design, development and support of the standardization effort of GNSS 1 user equipment, for all types

of application (maritime, civil aviation, land transport),

— analysis of the integration aspects in the user vehicles, in preparation of validation trials,

— provision of at least two satellite links for the implementation of EGNOS (in particular lease of
AOR-E and IOR Inmarsat III transponders and of necessary facilities in corresponding NLESs),

— performance of trials in operational conditions to validate user requirements and user equipment

prototypes.