GALILEO PROJECT NEEDS MONEY

[BIZ/SCI-TECH: Brussels, February 10]
More money has to be invested in Galileo, the European system for satellite navigation, according to Philippe Maystadt, the Belgian chairman of the European Investment Bank. Galileo, which should be operational in 2008, will provide 100,000 new jobs and EUR 9bn income annually for European business.

The European budget running from 2007 to 2013 is, according to Maystadt, too restrictive to actually build this Galileo system. If the European parliament does not want to give up the satellite project, they will have to provide additional funding. The European Transport Commissioner, Jacques Barrot, says that Galileo will not be affected by the scrapping of the funding. The problem, in his view, is in the highway and rail infrastructure. Galileo will get top priority, says Barrot. The first satellite was launched last year.
(Source: De Tijd)
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