[unav_all] GPS-Galileo Agreement 26 June, US-EU Press Releases & Remarks

[Ruth E. Neilan]

Author: R. Neilan, IGS Central Bureau

Colleagues -
For your information included below are the official press releases, 
respectively, of the US and EU with respect to the GPS -Galileo 
accord.  The third inclusion below  contains the remarks from the 
signing of the treaty last week in Ireland. Congratulations to the 
negotiating teams for securing this important agreement!

kind regards - Ruth

[apologies for multiple postings]
==================================================


GPS-Galileo Agreement

US press release:
http://www.useu.be/

U.S., EU Reach Agreement on Satellite Navigation Services  (2004-06-27)

  At the European Union Summit held June 26 in Ireland, the United 
States and the European Union reached an agreement covering their 
satellite navigation services, the U.S. Global Positioning System, 
and Europe's planned Galileo system.

Following is the text of the White House fact sheet:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
(Shannon, Ireland)
For Immediate Release
June 26, 2004
FACT SHEET

U.S.-EU Summit: Agreement on GPS-Galileo Cooperation

Today, the United States and the European Union reached an agreement 
covering their satellite navigation services, the U.S. Global 
Positioning System, and Europe's planned Galileo system.

The U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) is a constellation of 28 
satellites and ground support facilities, used for a wide array of 
economic, scientific, and military applications. The satellites 
broadcast signals that can be converted into precise positioning and 
timing information anywhere in the world. In 1998, the European Union 
decided to pursue its own satellite navigation system, known as 
Galileo, which currently is still in its development phase.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, European Commission 
Vice-President Loyola de Palacio, and Irish Foreign Minister Brian 
Cowen signed the Agreement on the Promotion, Provision, and Use of 
Galileo and GPS Satellite-Based Navigation Systems and Related 
Applications. This historic agreement protects Allied security 
interests, while paving the way for an eventual doubling of 
satellites that will broadcast a common civil signal worldwide, 
thereby promoting better and more comprehensive service for all users.

The agreement ensures that Galileo's signals will not harm the 
navigation warfare capabilities of the United States and the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization military forces, ensures that both the 
United States and the European Union can address individual and 
mutual security concerns, and calls for non-discrimination and open 
markets in terms of trade in civil satellite navigation-related goods 
and services.

Recognizing the added benefit to civil and commercial users if the 
two independent systems were compatible and interoperable, the United 
States and the European Union have shared technical analyses and 
information, resulting in an agreement to establish a common civil 
signal. The additional availability, precision, and robustness that 
will be provided by dual GPS-Galileo receivers lays the foundation 
for a new generation of satellite-based applications and services, 
promoting research, development, and investment that will benefit 
business, science, governments, and recreational users alike.

============================================================

EU Press Release (click on press release):
http://europa.eu.int/pol/trans/index_en.htm

IP/04/805
Brussels, 28 June 2004

GALILEO and GPS will navigate side by side: EU and US sign final agreement

The European Union and the United States concluded an agreement on 
GALILEO and GPS at the end of the Summit held in Ireland on 26 June 
2004.  The agreement on the promotion, provision and use of the two 
satellite-based navigation systems and related applications that was 
signed by Commission Vice-President Loyola de Palacio and US 
Secretary of State Colin Powell, will allow each system to work 
alongside the other without interfering with its counterpart's 
signals and thus give a huge boost to users worldwide. Vice-President 
Loyola de Palacio said: "This agreement will allow the European 
project GALILEO to become the world standard for civil and commercial 
use of satellite navigation; it will offer the best possible level of 
services to all users".

After more than 4 years of intensive talks, the results for GALILEO, 
and, more importantly, users of GALILEO and GPS worldwide, are highly 
satisfactory.  The agreement confirms that GPS and GALILEO services 
will be fully compatible and interoperable and therefore makes the 
joint use of GPS and GALILEO and the manufacturing of equipment much 
easier and cheaper.

GALILEO has now become the de facto world standard of open signals in 
the GNSS mass market.  GALILEO will not need to rely on a 
"GALILEO-only" user community; instead it will be instantly 
accessible and used by millions of people who today use GPS. This 
means that all users of satellite radio-navigation will be able to 
simultaneously, with only one receiver, use one or the other of the 
two systems, or both at the same time.

In addition of being the first civil system specifically dedicated to 
civil users, the additional feature of GALILEO is its commercial 
nature. The agreement with the United States does confirm the quick 
introduction of GALILEO in all user segments (mass market and 
professional) throughout the world. The market potential is indeed 
considerable: 3 billion receivers and revenues of some ¤ 250 billion 
per year by 2010 worldwide, and the creation of more than 150.000 
high qualified jobs in Europe alone.

The agreement represents a major asset for the business case of the 
future GALILEO operator expected to finance at least two-third of the 
deployment of the system (¤ 1.4 billion), one-third being financed by 
the public sector (¤ 700 million)* .  Such promising prospects will 
intensify the current competition between the three pre-selected 
consortia of companies which are running to get the concession to 
operate the system.

Results of this competition which is run by, the Galileo Joint 
Undertaking (the programme's management-arm), will be disclosed by 
the Commission in October in view of a decision by the Council in 
December to move to the successive phases of the programme and open 
the way for the conclusion of the concession contract in 2005.

Finally, this agreement allows the last system specifications to be 
set, a crucial aspect for the swift operation of GALILEO. After the 
current development phase (2 satellites under construction will be 
launched by the end of 2005 and 2 shortly after), the deployment of 
the remaining 24 satellites (and related ground stations) is expected 
by 2008, date at which the system should start operation.

For more information about GALILEO, please visit:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/galileo
http://www.esa.int/export/esaSA/navigation.html
http://www.galileoju.com

  *The total cost of Galileo amounts to ¤ 3.2 billion, respectively ¤ 
1.1 billion for the development phase (2002-2005), fully financed by 
the public sector (half by ESA and half by the Commission) and 2.1 
billion for the deployment phase (2006-2007), co-financed by the 
private (the concession holder) and public sectors (the Commission).



=================================================================

Secretary of State Colin Powell hailed the new U.S.-EU agreement on 
Global Positioning System (GPS)-Galileo cooperation as a "remarkable 
achievement" at a signing ceremony June 26 in Shannon, Ireland, 
during the U.S.-EU Summit.

The U.S. GPS system consists of satellites broadcasting signals that 
can be converted into precise positioning and timing information 
anywhere in the world. In 1998 the European Union decided to develop 
its own satellite navigation system, which it called "Galileo."

The new agreement, Powell said, "manages to balance the competition 
that is inherent in the commercial dimension of satellite 
navigational technology with the cooperation necessary for the 
security dimension."

Powell also noted that combined GPS-Galileo capabilities will open up 
"major opportunities for scientific research and creative 
engineering, enabling new applications, applications that we haven't 
even begun to think of yet, and also for the development of new 
technologies."

European Commission Vice President Loyola de Palacio and Irish 
Foreign Minister Brian Cowen participated in the signing ceremony as 
well.

Following is the State Department transcript:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
June 29, 2004

REMARKS

SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN L. POWELL
AT THE SIGNING OF THE GALILEO TREATY

June 26, 2004
Dromoland Castle
Shannon, Ireland

FOREIGN MINISTER COWEN: Good morning, everyone. Secretary of State, 
Commissioner. I'm delighted to be here with the U.S. Secretary of 
State Powell and Vice President de Palacio to sign a cooperation 
agreement between the European and U.S. satellite navigation systems.

  The Galileo Program is a joint initiative of the European Commission 
and the European Space Agency, and it's the first global satellite 
positioning and navigation system designed specifically for civilian 
use worldwide. It has been in development in the European Union since 
1999, and in March of 2002 the European Council decided to complete 
its development and to prepare for its commercial operation. Today's 
agreement will allow rapid movement towards that goal. The Commission 
has estimated that Galileo will create more than 150,000 jobs in 
Europe alone. This is therefore a project of huge economic and 
commercial significance and one which will set technological 
standards globally over the next decade.

  One of the major messages of this summit has been the crucial nature 
of our investment relationship and the need to deepen our cooperation 
in areas of advanced technology. I can think of no better example of 
this than the Galileo project and the agreement that we are signing 
today. I would like invite Vice President de Palacio and Secretary 
Powell to say a few words.

  EU VICE PRESIDENT DE PALACIO: Thank you, President. The Galileo GPS 
agreement is good news for satellite navigation worldwide. And I must 
say that this historic agreement, with this historic agreement we are 
paving the way for the future of global satellite navigation, and I 
want to thank all the team who have been working from the U.S. side 
and from the EU side for the magnificent work they have done which 
has facilitated this agreement which at the beginning was not the 
easiest one to be achieved. But nevertheless, we managed, and this is 
the most important question.

  I must say that with this agreement, we are going to set the rules 
of the game for the GPS and Galileo for the coming decades, both 
systems being fully interoperable, and they will set the world 
standards in the market through the use of the same open signal. This 
will allow all users to use in a complementary way both systems with 
the same receiver. The benefits of satellite navigation will grow 
significantly. The minister has said already the figures for 
business. But we must say that we will double the number of 
navigation satellites to provide a most efficient service to users 
worldwide.

  This agreement was a fruitful exercise in transatlantic relations, 
and today we are confirming our commitment to develop a key 
technology which will bring significant opportunities for all our 
common future, and so, once again, building together U.S.-EU, 
EU-U.S., building for the future worldwide.

Thank you.

  SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much, Brian and Loyola.

  Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to be at this year's historic 
U.S.-EU summit, the first since the EU's enlargement to 25 members. 
On behalf of President Bush, I again congratulate Europe on this 
major accomplishment with the completion of this current phase of 
expansion.

  As you know, this also marks the 50th anniversary of formal U.S.-EU 
relations. That relationship has been characterized by shared 
principles, common interests and close cooperation. Our tradition of 
cooperation continues today as I join European Commission Vice 
President Loyola de Palacio and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen as 
signatories to the U.S.-EU agreement on GPS-Galileo cooperation.

  I, too, would like to thank everyone on both sides of the Atlantic 
who worked so hard to conclude this agreement. As the Vice President 
said a moment ago, it's been difficult work, but we never gave it up. 
We stuck with it, and now we see the results of that hard labor.

  And particularly it was Vice President de Palacio's vision that set 
Galileo firmly on its path to becoming a reality. She understood the 
importance of protecting allied security interests and ensuring that 
Galileo was compatible with the U.S. Global Positioning System. Her 
efforts as well as those of the presidency and all the member states 
have guaranteed a mutually beneficial relationship between our 
respective satellite navigation services.

  Thanks to this agreement we will enhance the common benefits of 
these new technologies. The agreement manages to balance the 
competition that is inherent in the commercial dimension of satellite 
navigational technology with the cooperation necessary for the 
security dimension. This agreement also establishes a framework for 
ongoing U.S.-EU cooperation in the field of satellite navigation. 
GPS-Galileo capabilities will open up major opportunities for 
scientific research and creative engineering, enabling new 
applications, applications that we haven't even begun to think of 
yet, and also for the development of new technologies. And the 
agreement paves the way for the two systems to eventually broadcast a 
common civil signal, which will double the number, as you heard a 
moment ago, of satellites working within a compatible framework. 
This, in turn, will ensure the safety and availability of satellite 
navigation technology for transportation and recreational users 
worldwide.

  I am one of those recreational users. I also have a security 
interest in GPS technology. I have a GPS system in my Volvo, and I 
also have used GPS systems in war. In the Gulf War some years ago, in 
the early '90s, one of my retired general colleagues went on 
television not knowing what the latest advances in technology were, 
and said that he was terrified that the American army would go out 
into the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq and immediately become lost 
because there were no signposts, no mountains to look at, no places 
by which one could steer, only to discover that nobody got lost 
because we had gone out and purchased GPS systems for all of our 
tanks, and so every soldier on the battlefield knew exactly where he 
or she was at any particular point in time.

  We have seen such growth in this technology in the intervening years 
so that it has become so cheap that anybody can have it, it has 
become so reliable that it can be used increasingly for scientific, 
commercial, recreational, every imaginable purpose. We use it for 
agriculture, we use it to know when to put our crops in the ground 
now because we can precisely know where to put crops in a particular 
point of a farm or some cultivated area.

  We are just now beginning to scratch the capabilities of this 
technology, and that's why it was so important that the U.S. and the 
European Union come together and find a compatible way of moving 
forward. We have found that way. I congratulate Loyola, I 
congratulate Brian and through Brian all the member states of the 
European Union for this remarkable achievement.

  Thank you.

==========================================================

-- 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  International GPS Service - Central Bureau
        Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    tel: 818-354-8330, fax: 818-393-6686
          mobile: 626-975-1136
        <ruth.neilan at jpl.nasa.gov>
         http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^