Commission starts satellite navigation discussion with green paper The European Commission has published a Green Paper on satellite navigation applications that poses questions on which applications should be developed, and what the public sector's role should be. The European Union is building a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Ap... The European Commission has published a Green Paper on satellite navigation applications that poses questions on which applications should be developed, and what the public sector's role should be. The European Union is building a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Applications are constantly being developed, and cover sectors as diverse as transport, communication, land survey, agriculture, scientific research, health and tourism. The Green Papers outlines a number of potential applications, and then asks stakeholders to indicate their area of interest and then give their opinion on the most important related issues. These include: measures to accelerate market introduction, the legal and regulatory framework; the role of the pubic authorities; market perspective; sensitivity to costs; certification; and integration with communications systems. 'The real value linked to the costs and efforts undertaken to bring Galileo [the EU's satellite navigation system] into orbit is that it presents a unique opportunity for new applications, economic growth and job creation in the European Union,' said EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot. 'These economic returns are many times higher than the costs of the system itself.' One of the questions addresses research specifically. Annual investment in satellite navigation applications by both the public and private sectors together is currently over €100 million, according to the Commission, and the figure is likely to increase fivefold when Galileo becomes fully operational. 'Is the overall research effort in Europe commensurate with the general objective of giving Europe state-of-the-art competence?' asks the paper. 'In which relevant fields and sectors of research should efforts be concentrated?' And 'What needs to be done to increase the research effort and exploit research results at best?' the paper continues. Other questions address small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), international cooperation, standards and intellectual property right (IPR) rules. An analysis of the results of the public debate, accompanied by an action plan, will be presented in September 2007 by the Commission.
