The European Union and Israel yesteday signed an agreement on the Galileo - European satellite radio navigation program.
European Commission VP Loyola de Palacio said: “This is a very important step for the development of Galileo as an international program and its future use worldwide”.
The agreement provides for co-operative activities on satellite navigation and timing in a wide range of sectors, notably science and technology, industrial manufacturing, service and market development, as well as standardisation, frequencies and certification. Israel is also invited to take part in the program financially through a stake holding in the Galileo Joint Undertaking, the body managing the program. The Galileo Joint Undertaking will immediately start discussions with Israel to that effect so that the activities can start as soon as possible.
Israel is one of the eight countries within the world space community demonstrating significant technological assets on space programs and achievements on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) applications, equipment, user segment and technology.
After the recent signatures of the agreements between the EU, the People’s Republic of China and the United States, the signature of the agreement with Israel represents a big boost for the GNSS market which is indeed potentially 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.
This agreement confirms the ambition of the EU to further stimulate international cooperation around itself. By the end of this year, the commission is expected to sign further agreements with the Russian Federation on the compatibility between the Galileo and GLONASS systems, and with other third countries such as India, Ukraine, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Australia.
Galileo was launched on the initiative of the European Commission and developed jointly with the European Space Agency (ESA). It will make for the development of a new generation of universal services in areas such as transport, telecommunication, agriculture or fisheries, and promises to be highly profitable.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on Wednesday, July 14, 2004