Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Action Plan on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Applications SEC(2010)716 SEC(2010)717
Date: 2010-06-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, action programme, intelligent transport system, new technology, satellite navigation, service industry, telecommunications industry

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 14.6.2010 
COM(2010)308 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Action Plan on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Applications 

SEC(2010)716 
 SEC(2010)717 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Action Plan on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Applications 

1. 

INTRODUCTION:  TOWARDS  MORE  APPLICATIONS  OF  EGNOS  AND  GALILEO  IN 
EUROPE 

1.1. 

EGNOS is there, let’s use it! 

EGNOS1,  the  European  satellite-based  augmentation  system  that  paves  the  way  for 
GALILEO, has been in service since 1 October 2009. Six months before, on behalf of the EU, 
the Commission took over from the European Space Agency (ESA) ownership of the system. 
With  its  three  geostationary  satellites  and  40  ground  stations  spread  over  Europe  and  North 
Africa, EGNOS supplements the Global Positioning System (GPS), to which the US provided 
access for civilian use, with no guarantee of service, back in 2000. 

The  European  Green  Paper  consultation  on  GNSS  applications  of  2006  confirmed  the  wide 
range  of  potential  GNSS  application  domains  in  Europe  making  use  of  the  positioning, 
velocity and timing capabilities offered by GNSS. 

EGNOS  offers  free  enhanced  satellite  navigation  signals  over  Europe  which  are  ten  times 
more  precise  than  GPS.  All  application  domains  which  use  positioning  and  velocity 
information  can  benefit  from  this  improved  accuracy:  all  transport  modes  through  the 
management  of  infrastructure  and  the  provision  of  geo-localised  information,  logistics, 
precision agriculture, civil protection and emergency management, mapping and land registry, 
fisheries, energy, management of natural resources, mining, Earth sciences, meteorology, the 
modelling of climate change, environment, justice and law enforcement, border control, etc. 

Another  advantage  EGNOS  can  offer  civilian  users  is  integrity,  i.e.  a  measure  of  the  trust 
which  can  be  placed  in  the  correctness  of  the  information  supplied  by  the  system,  with  the 
user  being  automatically  alerted  whenever  an  error  made  by  the  system  is  beyond  a  certain 
confidence limit. Integrity plays an important role in Safety of Life applications in transport 
(all  modes  of  transport,  airport  management,  automatic  vehicles),  sensitive  commercial 
applications (high-precision oil platform location, logistics, transport of dangerous goods), or 
liability-critical  applications  needing  legal  recourse  (reconstruction  of  road  accidents,  road 
user charging, synchronisation of electrical or telecommunication networks). 

1.2. 

Europe must take its share of the global GNSS downstream market 

Together  with  the  GPS  signal,  EGNOS  today,  and  later  GALILEO,  strengthens  the 
infrastructure leading to a global market for GNSS products and services, called downstream 
GNSS applications. In 2008, this was worth €

 124 bn. 

1 

EGNOS: European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service 

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The market  is founded  primarily on basic positioning  and timing signals, but is expected to 
benefit  from  the  planned  introduction  of  authentication  and  encryption  of  signals.  Experts 
predict that, in volume, 75 % (52% in revenues) of this market will come from products and 
services  linked  to  mobile  telecommunications  and  personal  handsets,  with  a  further  20 % 
(44% in revenues) from intelligent transport systems for road and the remaining 5 % (4% in 
revenues)from other domains of application. 

Despite  Europe’s  investment  in  its  GNSS  infrastructure  and  the  availability  of  EGNOS, 
European  industry  has  only  a  low  share  of  the  global  GNSS  applications  market  compared 
with what it is capable of achieving in other sectors of high-technology (a good third). This is 
a problem since: 

–  Applications  based  on  EGNOS  and  subsequently  on  GALILEO  would  make  a  decisive 
contribution  to  the  development  of  a  knowledge-based  society  and  the  creation  of  high-
value  jobs  in  the  EU.  Europe  will  therefore  be  missing  a  huge  opportunity  if  it  does  not 
take an appropriate share of the economic benefit expected from GNSS applications. Also, 
if GALILEO and EGNOS do not become the underlying GNSS standard in Europe, many 
application  domains  may  remain  shackled  with  technologies  which  prevent  them  from 
benefiting from the added-value of new advanced services. 

–  The  limited  use  of  applications  based  on  EGNOS  and  GALILEO  leads  to  critical 
dependencies as GNSS are very pervasive, providing vital position, navigation, and timing 
information for a whole range of daily-life activities and for Europe’s security and social 
and economic development. By relying only on GPS-based applications, the EU would be 
exposed  to  the  potential  non-availability  of  the  GPS  signal,  which  is  beyond  the  EU's 
control since its primary objective is to support the military operations of a third country. 

In the same way as the Internet, the pervasiveness of GNSS services is huge. The most recent 
and conservative estimates of the overall benefits of EU GNSS programmes to EU industry, 
citizens and Member States are put at between €
 63 bn over the next 20 years, with 
most important benefits arising from indirect revenues in the downstream industry (between 
 37 bn and €
 45 bn). As a consequence, the low uptake of applications based on EU GNSS is 
a problem that affects European society in general, and in many ways2. 

 55 and €

Meanwhile,  uncertainty  surrounding  the  European  GNSS  has  been  affecting  confidence  in 
potential  downstream  business.  Growing  ‘competition’  from  third  countries  (US,  Russia, 
China,  India,  Japan,  which  have  recognised  the  strategic  value  of  GNSS  and  declared  their 
intention of deploying GNSS capabilities for civilian use, including the development by their 
industry  of  applications  based  on  their  own  system)  has  also  changed  the  context  for  the 
development  of  GNSS  applications  to  the  detriment  of  European  players,  as  these  systems 
could enter into operation at about the same time as GALILEO. 

So  given  the  new  reality  of  EU  GNSS  programmes,  a  detailed  action  plan  is  called  for:  to 
boost  people's  confidence  in  the  programmes,  to  foster  the  development  of  EGNOS  and 
GALILEO  downstream  applications,  and  to  achieve  the  quickest,  deepest,  broadest 

2 

The  issue  of  the  direct  income  potentially  generated by the  European GNSS will  not  be  addressed in 
this  Communication;  nor  will  actions  specifically  related  to  the  Public  Regulated  Service  (PRS),  for 
which the access is restricted to the authorities of the Member States. Both issues will be addressed in 
separate documents. 

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€
                                                 
development  of  applications  across  all  domains  so  to  reap  maximum  benefit  from  the  EU’s 
infrastructure. 

2. 

WHAT ROLE FOR THE EU? 

The potential benefit of GNSS applications spans several policy fields which are coordinated 
at EU level, including the EU2020 strategy and its EU flagship initiative ‘An industrial policy 
for the globalisation era’, transport safety, the environment, and Common Agriculture Policy 
enforcement.  And  since  the  adoption  of  EU  GNSS  often  requires  compliance  with 
international  norms  or  certification  at  European  level,  EU  action  is  needed  to  avoid 
duplication and wasted effort at Member State level. 

Maintaining  the  status  quo  and  taking  no  EU  action  would  result  in  fragmented  or 
uncoordinated  action  by  Member  States  and  would  maintain  the  current  low  level  of 
applications uptake based on EU GNSS, limit the effectiveness of novel applications, create 
barriers  to  the  free  movement  of  goods  and  services,  and  bring  about  unequal  treatment  for 
European citizens. 

Because the Commission is managing GALILEO and EGNOS on behalf of the EU, it has to 
ensure  the  best  return  on  investment  on  these  programmes.  Also,  the  Commission  will 
mobilise R&D funds stemming from EU research programmes... 

Proposals  for  EU  action  have  therefore  been  collected  through  an  extensive  consultation 
exercise, starting with the above-mentioned 2006 Green Paper on the applications of satellite 
navigation.  Several  market  studies  and  cost-benefit  analyses  have  been  conducted  by  the 
Commission  and  other  European  stakeholders,  including  some  Member  States.  Also,  new 
ideas have been triggered through calls for research proposals under the European Union 6th 
and 7th Framework Programmes for R&D or calls for ideas, such as the ‘GALILEO Masters’. 

The number of domains where applications can be developed is huge, but budget constraints 
mean  that  Commission  action  needs  to  be  focused  on  a  limited  number  of  topics  where  its 
influence is greatest. Other avenues of approach are left to other players and to market forces. 
In addition to these priority domains, the Commission proposes to enhance innovation across 
domains with ‘horizontal’ action to improve EU GNSS pervasiveness more generally. 

3. 

A PROGRAMME OF ACTION IN SPECIFIC PRIORITY DOMAINS 

Of  the  possible  application  domains  spelled  out  above,  priority  has  been  given  to  domains 
where GNSS applications can do most in terms of: 

–  contribution to EU objectives (growth, jobs, knowledge society); 

–  indirect economic (including energy consumption) and social benefits; 

–  positive influence on emissions and other types of pollution; 

–  positive influence on the operation of the single market and cross-border trade; 

–  positive influence on the interoperability of applications;  

–  linkage with interests arising from consultations and calls for ideas and business cases;  

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–  influence of European Commission and Member States' authorities; 

–  timing  constraints  and  opportunities  (with  EGNOS  available  now,  GALILEO  In-Orbit 

Validation (IOV) soon, GALILEO Full Operational Capability (FOC) only later); 

–  specific  added-value  arising  from  the  competitive  advantages  of  EGNOS  and  GALILEO 
services: authentication, integrity, high accuracy for positioning, navigation and timing. 

This process has led to focusing the action plan, for the period up to 20133, on the domains 
that are shaded darker (cf. figure 1): applications for individual handsets and mobile phones; 
road  transport;  aviation;  maritime  transport  and  fisheries;  precision  agriculture  and 
environment protection; civil protection and surveillance. 

3 

The European Commission will continue to monitor the market, and to assess the impact of action with 
a view to adapting priority domains whenever the action plan is updated. 

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EU objectives 

++ 

++ 

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Maximisation of indirect economic and social benefits 

ssr 

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Impact on emissions and pollution 

++ 

++ 

+++ 

++ 

= 

+ 

Impact on the single market and cross-border trade 

+ 

+ 

+++ 

+ 

++ 

++ 

Impact on interoperability of applications 

++ 

++ 

+++ 

+ 

++ 

Manifestation of interest 

++ 

++ 

+++ 

++ 

+ 

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= 

= 

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Influence of public authorities 

+++ 

+++ 

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+++ 

+++ 

+ 

++ 

++ 

+++ 

++ 

+++ 

++ 

+++ 

++ 

Timing priority (urgent:+++, timely:++, with Galileo:+, not urgent: -) 

+++ 

++ 

+++ 

+ 

++ 

++ 

+ 

+++ 

+ 

- 

++ 

++ 

+ 

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Specific value added by EGNOS or Galileo 

+++ 

+++ 

+++ 

++ 

+ 

++ 

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++ 

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rr 

= 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In each domain, priority is given to actions seen as most cost-effective, or are most affected 
by the availability of EGNOS, and where the European Commission is best equipped to act 
(applying the principle of subsidiarity). 

Instruments will be selected from among those traditionally in the hands of the Commission: 
especially  coordination  between  authorities,  information  dissemination,  awareness  raising, 
and possibly regulatory measures — subject to specific impact assessments — where market 
forces are not deemed sufficient. 

3.1. 

Certification, standardisation and coordination activities 

Aviation is by design the first application domain of EGNOS. The ‘Safety of Life’ service of 
EGNOS has been designed with the needs of the aviation sector in mind. Potential  users of 
GNSS  include  not  only  large  international  airlines,  but  also  operators  of  general  aviation 
aircraft and helicopters. Airports may also be interested in European GNSS services for the 
management  of  ground  traffic.  R&D  projects  have  shown  that  small,  not  fully  equipped 
airports  can  substantially  improve  and  increase  traffic  by  using  GNSS  rather  than  installing 
currently used expensive ground equipment. . 

The Single Sky policy and the Single European Sky ATM4 Research (SESAR) strategy also 
build on European GNSS. It is thus of paramount importance to get EGNOS certified for use 
by civil aviation. 

Action 1:  Certification of EGNOS is being sought for civil aviation (through the 
European  Aviation  Safety  Agency  (EASA)  and  according  to  International  Civil 
Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards), which involves certifying the system and 
its operator. 

The uptake of EGNOS in Europe, of Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in the USA, 
and  of  other  Satellite-Based  Augmentation  Systems  (SBAS)  in  the  Far  East  will  provide 
continuity  of  service  to  SBAS-equipped  aircraft  from  America  to  Asia.  EGNOS  currently 
covers  Western  and  Central  Europe.  It  will  be  extended  eastwards  and  southwards  in  the 
Mediterranean  area.  Similar  systems  over  Africa  will  facilitate  connections  between  Europe 
and this continent. The existing EGNOS satellite segment could be part of the solution. 

The European Commission will pursue preparatory work on providing 
Action 2: 
the Middle East and Eastern and Northern Europe with SBAS coverage on a par with 
the level of performance offered by EGNOS in the EU. It will propose scenarios to 
the forthcoming EU-Africa Summit for establishing SBAS in Africa. 

By far the leading market by size (75% of the GNSS world market for products and services), 
the  telecommunication  market  requires  little  investment  for  developing  most  applications, 
once cheap receivers are widely available (e.g. by mobile-phone manufacturers). 

Action 3: The European Commission will promote GALILEO and EGNOS enabled 
chips  and  handsets  through  industrial  cooperation  with  GNSS-owner  countries  and 
with receiver manufacturers. 

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ATM: Air Traffic Management 

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Some  future  Intelligent  Transport  Systems  (ITS)  applications  for  road  transport,  including 
Advanced  Driver  Assistance  Systems  (ADAS),  will  be  based  on  the  integrity  and 
authentication  functions  offered  by  GALILEO.  This  will  require  the  establishment  of  a 
certification  body  and  certification  procedures  to  be  elaborated  in  cooperation  with  vehicle 
manufacturers, electronics suppliers and road service operators. 

Action 4: 

The certification of GALILEO for ADAS will be investigated. 

Maritime  transport  monitoring  and  surveillance  would  be  greatly  improved  by  EGNOS  and 
GALILEO applications for navigation, including in ports, coastal areas or dangerous shipping 
lanes like the English Channel. GNSS is also a key tool for new European traffic monitoring 
systems  (LRIT  —  Long  Range  Identification  and  Tracking).  Used  in  mountains  and  desert 
areas too, the GALILEO Search and Rescue (SAR) service is being designed specifically for 
the  safety  of  fishermen  and  sailors.  By  making  it  easier  to  track  ships,  GALILEO  can  also 
facilitate customs procedures. Another application is on inland waterways where GNSS, with 
its  improved  accuracy,  should  be  an  important  source  of  data  for  the  River  Information 
Services (RIS). For all such safety-critical applications certification is required. 

Action 5:  Adoption  of  EGNOS,  then  GALILEO,  will  be  sought  for  maritime 
transport in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), taking 
into account International Conventions such as the International Convention for the 
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). 

Action 6:  Acceptance  of  GALILEO  SAR  capabilities  by  the  Cospas-Sarsat 
organisation. 

3.2. 

Information  dissemination, 
campaigns 

information  exchange,  and  awareness-raising 

Road  transport  is  the  second  GNSS  market  by  size  (around  20%  of  the  world  market  for 
GNSS products and services). ITS for road transport can make greater use of GNSS services. 
For  instance,  the  use  of  GNSS  is  already  recommended  by  the  European  Directive  on 
interoperability  of  electronic  fee  collection  systems5,  or  by  the  Regulation  on  transport 
conditions  of  living  animals6.  The  European  Commission  ITS  Action  Plan7  and  its 
accompanying  directive8  addresses  the  promotion  of  GNSS  services  within  specific  ITS 
applications  (eCall,  tolling,  parking  for  trucks,  etc.).  The  Logistics  Action  Plan9  is  another 
opportunity to develop GNSS applications for real-time tracking of containers, or to prevent 
theft. There is, however, very little awareness of EGNOS in the ITS community. 

Action 7: 
The  European  Commission  will  undertake  an  awareness  campaign 
including  a  series  of  tests  to  demonstrate  the  benefits  of  EGNOS  and  a  marketing 
campaign targeting the road transport community. 

5 

6 

7 
8 
9 

Directive  2004/52/EC  of  29  April  2004  on  the  interoperability  of  electronic  road  toll  systems  in  the 
Community. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport 
and  related  operations  and  amending Directives  64/432/EEC  and 93/119/EC  and  Regulation  (EC) No 
1255/97. 
COM(2008) 886. 
COM(2008) 887. 
COM(2007) 607. 

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Following the certification of EGNOS for aviation, awareness will need to be raised among 
the  actors  in  civil  and  general  aviation,  including  aircraft  manufacturers  and  airport 
authorities, about the availability of the services. 

Action 8: In conjunction with Eurocontrol, the European Commission will engage in 
an awareness and market development campaign focusing on aircraft manufacturers, 
general aviation and small airports. 

Likewise,  awareness  of  the  new  services  provided  by  EGNOS,  and  then  GALILEO,  for 
maritime  activities  needs  to  be  raised  among  equipment  manufacturers,  shipbuilders,  port 
authorities and ship owners (fisheries, leisure vessels, merchant ships). 

Action 9: 
The  European  Commission  will  engage  in  an  awareness  campaign 
targeting  equipment  manufacturers  and  shipbuilders,  port  authorities  and  ship 
owners. 

EGNOS  is  already  used  by  some  European  farmers.  Its  accuracy  and  reliability  help  them 
save  them  time,  fuel,  water  and  chemicals.  Beyond  agriculture,  GNSS  can  help  protect  the 
environment and manage natural resources, as it constitutes an indispensable source of data, 
in  conjunction  with  other  sources  of  measurement  such  as  the  Global  Monitoring  for 
Environment  and  Security  initiative  (GMES).  The  main  issue  in  that  domain  is  to  raise  the 
awareness of potential users for the benefits provided by GNSS. 

Action 10:  The  European  Commission  will  undertake  an  awareness  campaign 
targeting agriculture and other natural resource management activities. 

Together with GMES, the added-value services of GALILEO will help in the management of 
humanitarian disasters, in tackling forest fires, and in rescuing endangered persons. They will 
be  crucial  for  security,  helping  with  the  monitoring  of  borders  and  the  surveillance  of 
maritime zones. 

Action 11:  The European Commission will seek to raise awareness and coordinate 
Member States' activities related to civil protection. 

3.3. 

Regulatory measures 

Some  regulatory  measures  may  become  necessary  where  GNSS  adds  value  for  road  safety 
(e.g. monitoring the transport of dangerous goods, or for long-range public transport), for the 
efficiency  of  freight  transport,  or  for  improved  traffic  management,  as  a  complement  to  the 
Logistics and the ITS Action Plans, and more specifically to its actions 3.2 (‘eCall’) and 4.1 
(as  regards  an  open  in-vehicle  platform).  There  will  be  specific  impact  assessments  to  this 
end. 

Action  12:  The  European  Commission  will  investigate  the  expediency  of  some 
Directives:  One  on  GNSS-based  monitoring  of  long-range  coaches,  and  one  on 
GNSS-based  multimodal  logistics.  As  regards  GNSS-based  monitoring  of  the 
transport  of  dangerous  goods,  the  European  Commission  will  examine  various 
options concerning the use of telematics jointly developed at the international level 
(e.g. UNECE10 and OTIF11). 

10 

UNECE : United Nations Economic Commission for Europe  

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Action 13: The European Commission will investigate the expediency of amending 
the  Regulation  bearing  on  digital  tachographs,  notably  to  take  advantage  of  the 
availability of authenticated GNSS-based positioning, timing and speed information. 

Some future actions in the ITS area for road transport (including ADAS, anti-theft protection, 
accident data recorders and reconstruction systems) will require transmission of the electronic 
identification and the location of vehicles. 

Action 14: The European Commission will investigate the expediency of a Directive 
on  equipping  vehicles  with  a  GNSS  and  Radio  Frequency  Identification  (RFID) 
enabled on-board functional unit to provide both the exact authenticated position and 
the electronic identification of the vehicle, taking duly into account privacy and data 
protection rules. 

A  Common  Agriculture  Policy  addressing  environmental  factors  is  boosting  the  need  for 
details of the precise location of objects and stock. 

Action 15: The European Commission will seek to introduce the use of EGNOS and 
GALILEO  in  the  management  and  control  systems  of  EU  programmes  (e.g.  the 
Common Agriculture Policy.) 

4. 

HORIZONTAL ACTIONS 

The second action group includes ‘horizontal’ activities aimed at developing a wide range of 
applications  in  a  variety  of  domains,  and  at  enhancing  innovation,  including  unexpected, 
‘bottom-up’ ways of using GNSS services — as happened with the Internet. 

For  instance,  new  applications  for  individual  handsets  and  mobile  phones  are  expected  to 
flourish ‘bottom-up’, subject to the widescale availability of cheap receivers. 

Action  16:  The  European  Commission  will  fund  R&D  activities  aimed  at  reducing 
the cost of receivers, underpinning Action 3. 

GNSS  provide  a  new  and  simple  means  of  establishing  the  precise  position  of  fixed  points. 
They can help to build up an accurate data base of digital maps, and are obviously useful in 
terms  of  the  very  many  application  domains  that  build  upon  geographical  information 
systems,  starting  with  databases  for  cartography,  technical  maps,  or  the  creation  and/or 
updating  of  land-use  registers.  In  this  regard,  data  collection  should  comply  with  existing 
Directive  2007/2/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  March  2007 
establishing  an  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information 
the  European  Community 
(INSPIRE)12 and its implementing rules. 

in 

Action  17:  The  European  Commission  will  promote  the  use  of  EGNOS  and 
GALILEO in surveying in the Member States and third countries. The capabilities of 
EGNOS and GALILEO for improving the update of geographical databases will be 
explored  by  such  means  as  exchanges  of  best  practice  and  coordination  among 
Member States. 

11 
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OTIF : Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail 
OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1–14  

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Many  GNSS  applications  need  to  combine  Earth-observation-related  services  such  as  the 
GMES core services, and telecommunication services. 

Action 18:  The  European  Commission  will  work  towards  boosting  the  synergy 
between  GALILEO,  GMES,  GEOSS13  and  telecommunication  programmes  it 
manages, with a view to enhancing combined services. 

For  applications  to  flourish  in  the  widest  possible  range  of  domains,  GNSS  technical 
specifications,  legal  and  economical  information  must  be  made  available  to  users  and 
application developers worldwide. Users must be able to share experience and practice, and 
developers provided with a tool-kit that facilitates their work. 

Action 19:  The European Commission will establish an International EGNOS and 
GALILEO Application Forum where users, developers, infrastructure managers and 
systems  providers  can  exchange  views  to  feed  into  the  Europe  GNSS  evolution 
project. 

Action  20:  The  European  Commission  will  establish  and  maintain  a  virtual 
information centre and a general awareness and communication campaign. This will 
also  serve  to  gathering  feedback,  to  feed  into  the  specifications  for  evolutions  of 
EGNOS and GALILEO. 

Small and medium-sized enterprises and businesses (SMEs) are the key players, and the most 
likely  to  generate  employment  in  innovative  sectors.  They  must  be  made  aware  of  the  new 
potential  offered  by  EGNOS  and  GALILEO  so  that  they  engage  into  research.  SMEs  also 
must be helped in accessing finance when making the shift from research to prototypes and 
products. 

Action 21:  The  European  Commission  will  increase  awareness  among  SMEs 
through  two  instruments of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (EIP): 
dedicated  action  by  the  ‘Enterprise  Europe  Network’,  and  the  GNSS-innovation 
voucher scheme under ‘Innovation Partnership for Satellite-enabled Services’. 

Action 22:  The  European  Commission  will  seek  synergies  between  investment 
programmes run by the European Investment Bank on behalf of the European Union 
(e.g. under the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme), and other programmes 
(e.g. the Technology Transfer programme run by ESA). 

A specific measure is proposed to encourage GNSS-based innovation in the broadest possible 
range of applications, building on an existing initiative for inventors and with the support of 
European regions: 

Action  23:  The  European  Commission  will  support,  together  with  the  European 
GNSS  Supervisory  Authority  (GSA),  the  establishment  of  an  international  prize 
mechanism involving, for instance, regional organizations that promote applications 
based on EGNOS and GALILEO in a broad range of areas, including social services 
to ageing or disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility. 

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GEOSS: Global Earth Observation System of Systems  

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Research on applications proved to be useful for example in speeding up the use of Internet. 
In the absence of military funding, European Union support for research into civilian GNSS 
applications  represents  an  important  incentive  for  European  universities,  research  centres, 
SMEs and large-scale industry. 

Action 24:  The European Commission will allocate €38 mio worth of FP7 funding 
to  a  broad  spectrum  of  research  proposals  on  GNSS  applications  in  2011,  and  will 
seek  additional  funding  through  the  mid-term  review  of  FP7  to  enable  calls  to  be 
launched on an annual basis. 

5. 

THE NEED TO UPGRADE EU FUNDING FOR R&D 

Research is clearly the best source of innovation. Money spent on research has a direct effect 
on the uptake of new technologies. 

However,  GNSS  cannot  be  considered  a  traditional  market  as  the  US,  Russian  and  Chinese 
systems are under military control, and their specifications are subject to military rather than 
commercial considerations: these countries' home-grown industries can benefit directly from 
military-funded  programmes  to  develop  applications  and  services  to  a  level  of  maturity  at 
which they can be brought onto the civilian market. 

For  instance,  federal  US  military-funded  programmes  to  develop  GNSS  applications  and 
services are estimated at €200 mio to €500 mio a 
year, compared with an average of €15 mio 
a year14 of European Union funding for civilian applications (cf. figure 2). As Europe focuses 
on  the  civilian  uses  of  EGNOS  and  GALILEO,  global  EU  funding  for  R&D  (including 
national programmes) should target the US public level of investment on GNSS applications 
with a view to ensure that the GALILEO system is fully used and competitive. 

In regard to the effort deployed by the EU budget, the current amount spent on GNSS R&D is 
very low compared to other high-technology sectors: for instance, in average, Information and 
Communication  Technologies  (ICT)  sector  gets  each  year  3  times  more  R&D  funding  than 
EU GNSS sector at equivalent EU turnover15. 

Should  the  EU  decide  to  restore  the  amount  of  €400  mio  taken,  in  2008,  from  the  Seventh 
Framework Programme of the European Union for research, technological development and 
demonstration  activities  (2007-2013)16  (FP7)  to  finance  the  infrastructure,  it  would  need  to 
increase its funding for R&D on GNSS applications to approximately €100 mio a year, from 
2010 on. This would represent less than 10 % of the budget for GNSS infrastructure. 

With  no  unused  allocations  available  under  the  current  Multiannual  Financial  Framework 
(MFF)  2007-2013,  the  upgrade  of  EU  R&D  funding  would  require  either  an  internal 

14 

15 

16 

FP7 funding to R&D for the end-user segment (applications, standardisation and certification, receivers, 
related international projects, mission evolution,) reached €27 mio in 2007, €40 mio in 2008 and €38 
mio in 2011. That represents an average of € 15 mio per year over the 2007-2013 period. In addition to 
that, 15M€ were dedicated to GNSS technology R&D in 2007 from FP7. 
Over the duration of FP7, €8.3 billion have been ea rmarked for ICT (€1.2 billion in average per year), 
for  an  EU  turnover  worth  €680  billion  in  2009 .  To  compare  to  a  €15  million  EU  GNSS  end-user 
segment R&D funding in average per year, contributing to a €25 billion turnover. 
OJ L 412, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 

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redeployment  within  the  FP7  budget  or  further  Member  States'  national  investment  in  this 
area.  

(in € million) 

2007-
2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2010-
2013 

2007-
2013 

GNSS R&D FINANCIAL 
NEEDS 

Allocated in the FP7 for GNSS 
end-user segment R&D 

Allocated in the FP7 for GNSS 
technology R&D 

Additional funding envisaged 
for the GNSS R&D 

ALLOCATION OF FP7 
FUNDING FOR GNSS 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
(DEPLOYMENT) 

80 

100 

100 

100 

100 

400 

480 

65 

15 

0 

0 

38 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

38 

103 

0 

15 

100 

62 

100 

100 

362 

362 

85 

30 

29 

113 

143 

315 

400 

Figure 2: GNSS R&D financial needs 

If the EU and Member States do not act, the market will be taken over by foreign industries 
that  have  benefited  from  military  expenditure  to  establish  their  base,  build  critical  strength 
and acquire dominant positions. The issue is not just economic: once Europe has established 
its  independent  GNSS  infrastructure,  it  needs  to  maintain  independence  in  terms  of 
applications too: positioning and timing information are resources of extreme pervasiveness; 
more than 6 % of the whole GDP of the European Union relies on it. 

6. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

This Action Plan will be updated regularly, as in a rolling programme: its objectives extend 
beyond  2020,  but  the  current  set  of  actions  focuses  on  2010-2013.  A  first  review  of  the 
current proposal may come after the exploitation plan for the GALILEO post-2013 period has 
been  adopted,  as  each  action  may  be  affected  by  the  features  of  the  forthcoming  services, 
especially in terms of start-up timing, pricing policies, liability and intellectual property. 

Adjustments may also be needed when decisions are taken on the further funding for research 
on applications, or on extending the EGNOS infrastructure to regions beyond Europe. Whilst 
the  current  plan  emphasises  EGNOS  applications,  further  versions  will  progressively  shift 
priorities towards GALILEO applications. A macro-econometric model and tool will also be 
developed to monitor the impact of the plan, with a view to feeding information back into this 
review process. 

The proposed action will be taken by the European Commission and its related Agencies, and 
will involve national and regional authorities in the Members States, and other stakeholders as 
needed. 

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