GALILEO, satellite radionavigation programme: development phase, joint undertaking

PURPOSE : to establish the Galileo Joint Undertaking. COMMUNITY MEASURE : Council Regulation 876/2002/EC. CONTENT : This Regulation sets up a joint undertaking responsible for managing the development phase of the GALILEO satellite navigation system. It is established for four years and based in Brussels. It will be the task of the joint undertaking to mobilise the funds assigned to that programme. The purpose of GALILEO is to set up a European system providing uniform services, including for northern latitudes, by means of satellites in medium orbit. The development phase will continue until 2005 and will be followed by the deployment phase until 2007 and the operational phase beginning in 2008. The seat of the Joint Undertaking is located in Brussels. The Joint Undertaking is set up under Article 171 of the Treaty. It is considered as an international organisation. The Joint Undertaking's main task is successfully to complete the development of the Galileo programme during its development phase by combining public and private sector funding. In addition, it should ensure the management of major demonstration projects. The Statute of the Joint Undertaking lays down its specific tasks: - to oversee the optimal integration of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) in the Galileo programme and the implementation of the Galileo development and validation phase and help prepare for the deployment and operational phase; - to launch, in co-operation with the European Space Agency and through contractual arrangements with private sector entities, the research and development activities needed successfully to complete the phase of development and co-ordination of national activities in this area; and to launch a first series of satellites to finalise the technological developments that have occurred and ensure the large-scale demonstration of the capabilities and reliability of the system; -in co-operation with the Commission, the European Space Agency and the private sector, to help to mobilise the public and private sector funds needed to make proposals to the Council for the management structures for the various successive phases of the programme, on the basis of the following activities: - it will draw up a business plan covering all the phases of the Galileo programme, on the basis of data to be supplied by the Commission, concerning the services that can be offered by Galileo, the revenue that they may generate and the necessary accompanying measures, - it will negotiate, by way of a competitive tendering process with the private sector, an overall agreement for the financing of the deployment and operational phases that sets out the responsibilities, roles and risks to be shared between the public and private sectors; to supervise the carrying-out of all programmes, and to make any necessary adjustments in the light of developments occurring during the development phase. The founding members are the European Community, which subscribes EUR 520 million, and the European Space Agency, which subscribes EUR 50 million to the capital. Undertakings need to subscribe EUR 5 million within 1 year. This amount is reduced to EUR 250 000 for SMEs. ENTRY INTO FORCE : 28/05/02.�