EU transport ministers have this morning agreed unanimously to give the green light to Europe’s most ambitious and expensive space programme ever.
The €3.4 billion Galileo satellite navigation system will rival the American GPS and the Russian GLONASS systems.
Officials say that unlike the US system, Galileo will be used primarily for civilian rather than military applications.
The project will involve the construction of 30 satellites orbiting 15,000 miles above the earth, which will allow users to pinpoint their location to within one metre. Possible applications include monitoring of employees movements.
The project has been under discussion for many years, with the Commission and France arguing the need for European independence from US satellites.
However, concerns over cost, particularly from Germany and Britain, had held back progress, until agreement was reached by EU heads of state at the Barcelona summit ten days ago to proceed with the plan.
The project has an expected completion date of 2008 and will be financed by both the public and private sectors. The European Space Agency recently claimed that Galileo would have the potential to generate revenues of €372 million in 2010.