SATELLITE NAVIGATION : SEVEN BN EURO FOR GALILEO AND EGNOS IN 2014-2020.

The European GNSS Agency, which manages the satellite navigation programmes Galileo and EGNOS(1) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have been confirmed as the main actors of Galileo governance for the years 2014-2020. On 30 November 2011, the European Commission presented a new regulation on the governance of the programme, which delegates its operation to the GNSS agency and the management of its deployment to the ESA(2). While the EU will continue to be the sole financer of EGNOS and Galileo, the Commission obviously remains in charge of the programmes. The Commission also owns all the "tangible or intangible" assets created or developed as part of these programmes.

Moreover, the proposal confirms the 7 billion figure which the Commission intends to dedicate to Galileo and EGNOS in 2014-2020 (7 billion in constant prices, which is about 7.9 billion in current prices). This amount comes as no surprise since it was already on the 2014-2020 budget proposal presented by the Commission, on 29 June. This would be in addition to the 5 billion already invested by the EU in Galileo to ensure the development of infrastructures, technological validation and the launch of the satellites. The additional 7 billion, which has yet to be green-lighted by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers as part of budget negotiations, will help complete the deployment phase of Galileo and cover its operational costs (management on the ground, certification procedures, offer of services, replacing the satellites, etc) as well as operating the EGNOS system. The 7 billion will not cover the works financed by the EU's research and development framework programme (Horizon 2020), such as works linked to the development of system-derived applications. The proposal also states that member states have...