Brussels, 10 Dec 2002
Europe's transport ministers asked the Commission to continue negotiations with the USA and Russia and to draw up guidelines for negotiations with China on the Galileo programme when they met on 5 and 6 December.
Negotiations with the USA on interoperability at user level and compatibility at system level between GPS (global positioning system) and Galileo should be finalised, concluded the Transport Council. Discussions with Russia, meanwhile, should ensure interoperability and collaboration between Galileo and GLONASS, as well as cooperation with regard to the future development of GNSS for civil use.
The Council invited the Commission to present a proposal for negotiating directives with China, taking into account security considerations, and to expand contacts with third countries with a view to demonstrating Galileo's potential and possible negotiations on collaboration.
Ministers welcomed the establishment of the Joint Undertaking, and called on the body to become fully operational as soon as possible. The Joint Undertaking should also come to an agreement with the European Space Agency on the modalities of their relationship, the Council concluded.
The Council asked the Joint Undertaking to prepare a work programme for calls for tender for the future Galileo system operator. The work programme should include:
- an open service, free of user charge, providing position and timing performances competitive with other GNSS (global navigations satellite systems);
- a commercial service allowing the development of professional applications with increased navigation performances and added value data;
- a Safety of Life service targeted at safety critical users:
- a public regulated service reserved for government authorised users for applications requiring the continuity of services;
- support for the search and rescue services of the COSPOS-SARSAT satellite system and other relevant systems.
To see the Council conclusions, please visit: http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/trans/7355 0.pdf