BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) _ European Union ministers approved funding Tuesday for a rival to the American GPS satellite navigation system, overcoming cost concerns and U.S. military objections that have delayed the project for over a year.
Transport ministers released an overdue block of 450 million euros (dlrs 392 million) to fund development until 2006, when the first of 30 planned satellites are to be sent into space.
That's on top of an earlier 100 million euros (dlrs 88 million) in EU money and 550 million euros (dlrs 485 million) from its partner, the European Space Agency.
The EU wants to have its system, dubbed Galileo, up and running in 2008, with private firms sharing the total cost of 3.6 billion euro (dlrs 3.2 billion).
Galileo backers say it will spur economic growth, as did the Ariane rocket and Airbus jet programs before it. The European Association of Aerospace Industries this week estimated that developing and operating Galileo would create 100,000 new jobs.
Politics also played an increasingly prominent role, as leaders warned that Europe risked ``vassal'' status to U.S. technology in space.
Galileo ``permits the EU to shake off dependence'' on the American Global Positioning System, French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot said after the vote.
EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio said Tuesday's vote means that ``Europe wishes to be present on the international scene ... in all aspects of cutting-edge technologies.''
Six countries_ Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and Britain _ had originally balked at Galileo's cost and questioned the economic viability of setting up a commercial competitor to the freely available GPS, the de facto global standard.
Washington also lobbied against Galileo, calling it unnecessary. The Pentagon, which controls GPS, wrote in December that Galileo could interfere with next-generation GPS signals intended for military use.
But Germany signed on to the project shortly before an EU summit this month, citing the ``considerable political, strategic and economic importance'' of Europe having its own system.
That ensured a majority for Tuesday's vote.
De Palacio said the EU would continue its ``best cooperation'' with U.S. officials to ensure Galileo and GPS are compatible and complementary.
``We are ready to do it immediately,'' she said. ``It will lead to the strengthening of both systems.''
A U.S. government official said talks that started two years ago with the Europeans would continue this spring when delegations of experts meet in Brussels.
``Now that the ministers have made their decision, we hope to be able to cooperate with Europe to ensure that Galileo is inter-operable with GPS and benefits users worldwide,'' the official said on condition of anonymity.
De Palacio conceded that, although Galileo is billed as a civilian project, its potential military applications made political control necessary. Each of the 15 EU countries will be represented on a supervisory board, and a separate ``security board'' will also be established, she said.
Tuesday's agreement called for setting up a ``joint undertaking,'' based in Brussels, to handle Galileo's development phase.
To avoid potential conflicts of interest, private companies won't be able to gain seats on Galileo's management board until after key project contracts are announced at the end of 2003.
Also Tuesday, ministers approved new regulations on aircraft noise that should end another dispute with the United States over adopting international norms.
The measures repeal a 3-year-old EU regulation banning older planes equipped with noise-reducing mufflers, known as ``hush kits.''
U.S. officials complained, saying the hush-kit ban has cost American companies and airlines more than dlrs 2 billion in lost sales and fleet depreciation.
``These (complaints) are now definitely resolved,'' Spanish Transport Minister Francisco Alvarez-Cascos said.
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