EU satellite project gets full backing

By Jeff Mason

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's planned satellite navigation system cleared a major hurdle on Friday, gaining backing from all EU countries including Spain.

Problems have plagued the project, meant to rival the U.S. Global Positioning System, ranging from squabbles about national influence to questions about its viability, timing and cost.

Twenty-six of the bloc's 27 members backed a proposal late on Thursday on distributing the work on the 30-satellite system, but Spain opposed the plan and sought assurances that it could house a ground control centre.

On Friday ministers amended the deal to specify that control centers in different EU states could operate as a network.

That convinced Spain, which had been dissatisfied with assurances that its planned centre to deal with search and rescue operations would function someday as a full control centre such as those in Italy and Germany.

"I'm not laughing, but I'm not crying," said Fernando Palao, general secretary for transportation at Spain's ministry for public works. "It's an acceptable text."

Portuguese Transport Minister Mario Lino, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, noted: "Today we are all united by Galileo."

EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot told reporters the deal would not divert funds away from the centers in the two other countries.