spacetoday.net: ESA nations reach agreement on Galileo funding

Posted: Mon, May 26, 2003, 8:56 PM ET (0056 GMT)
GalileoSat illustration

The member nations of the European Space Agency have reached agreement on a compromise that will free up funding for ESA's component of the Galileo satellite navigation system. Funding had been held up since April because Spain rejected an earlier deal that gave it a 9.5 percent share of the program; the country wanted a 11 percent program. ESA officials did not release details about the compromise, although Space News reported last week that Spain offered a compromise whereby the four countries with the biggest shares — France, Germany, Italy, and the UK — would reduce their stakes from 17.5 to 17.25 percent each; Spain would then get 10.25 percent and Belgium 4.75 percent. ESA had been trying to work out an agreement since last year, when a dispute between Germany and Italy regarding leadership of Galileo held up the project. That agreement was reached in late March, but Spain announced its rejection of the agreement in April. Galileo is a joint project with the European Union, the first joint project between ESA and the EU. The EU had previously threatened to move ahead with Galileo alone if ESA did not work out an agreement for its share.