European Union research and development projects could be scrapped to overcome a funding shortfall for Europe’s rival to the US global positioning system.EU countries on Friday discussed cutting €548m ($755m, £370m) from the union’s competitiveness budget for next year, which would hit transport and energy projects as well.
The Brussels meeting considered shifting some of that cash to other parts of the financing pot, a move that could meet part of the cost of the unionÂ’s Galileo satellite navigation system.
The suggestion adds to the controversy surrounding the project. Member states agreed last month to end talks with a private consortium and to find an extra €2.4bn funding by 2012 to build Galileo themselves.
While Germany says that Galileo would help the EU gain independence from other countries such as the US, the UK has questioned whether a business case exists for the project.
Member states must finalise next yearÂ’s budget by November, and FridayÂ’s talks were merely an opening salvo in negotiations with the European parliament. The chamber has often restored such cuts.
Nevertheless, the discussions signal months of talks on spending, with the EU facing awkward political choices. No extra cash is available for the multi-year spending round but there is room to manoeuvre from year to year.
Any raid on next year’s €5.8bn research pot could cause alarm, however.
| About €1bn in European funds has already been spent on Galileo |
The US military operates GPS. China is building its Beidou and Russia improving its Glonass system.