Galileo: a torpedo made in the USA
(archive) " Europe has decided not only to be a consumer, but to master its technological destiny” explained in 2002, when the green light was given to Galileo by the '15', the European commissioner in charge of the dossier, Loyola de Palacio (now deceased).
A tool for European independence
In his mind, as in that of his promoters, Galileo is not just a satellite navigation program, it is a independence ". The United States, first targeted, are not mistaken. They try everything, if not to block the project, at least to reduce its impact, especially at the military level.
All-out American lobbying
A spokesman for the Department of State (the American Department of Foreign Affairs) publicly denigrates the project, seeing in it " no need since GPS caters to users all over the world ". Paul Wolfowitz, then Deputy Secretary of Defense, decreed that Galileo should not be deployed in strategic places or that its signal could be jammed by the American GPS. A letter is sent to all MEPs to demonstrate the cost of the project. Several Member States are approached.
Lobbying that carries
This lobbying is bearing fruit, as my colleague Florence Autret tells us in her book (1). The United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Greece in particular are becoming, within the European Union, faithful guardians of the " civil vocation " of the system. In an agreement signed with the American GPS, Galileo “ give up » to use a super-efficient radio signal. This limits its competitive advantage.
Europe diversifies its horizons
But Europe also knows how to defend itself. By signing agreements with a dozen countries — China, India or Israel… — Galileo is rapidly gaining international stature. And the issue of military use of the system has never been cast in stone. Contrary to what some people want or say...
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
- “America in Brussels”, Florence Autret, Ed. Seuil, 230 p., €18
Article published in Ouest-france in May 2007 in a shorter version