Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2014, Official Report, column 213W, on the Galileo system, what the cost was to January 2014; and what proportion of that cost has been paid by the UK.

The Galileo Programme’s development stage took place between 2000 and 2007, and was funded through contributions by Member States of the European Space Agency (ESA). The UK contributed €240.3 million (£163.43m at March 2007 prices) to the approximately €1.5 billion (£1.02bn at March 2007 prices) budget, approximately 16%.

In 2007, Member States and the European Commission agreed a multi-annual budget to last until the end of 2013 of €3.4 billion (£2.3bn at March 2007 prices) of EU funds to complete the programme. EU Member States, including the UK, contribute to the EU Budget as a whole and not to individual spending programmes within it. As a reference point, the UK’s post-abatement financing share of the EU Budget was estimated to be around 12.5% in 2013.