Decision on Galileo seat postponed

European Union transport ministers were yesterday unable to agree on where a new EU agency to be known as the Galileo Supervisory Authority should be hosted and the decision was postponed until the incoming German presidency next month.

Malta is one of 11 contenders offering to host this prestigious EU agency. The former government computer centre in Dingli has been proposed by Malta to host the new offices.

Finnish Transport Minister Susanna Houvinen, who led the discussion over the issue, said at the end of the Transport Council meeting in Brussels yesterday that none of the 11 member states withdrew its candidacy and the discussion will be continued at the next Transport Council meeting in February.

She said the discussion focused on whether the decision should respect an agreement reached in 2003 providing for the new member states to be given priority in hosting new agencies.

Censu Galea, Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, who represented Malta at the meeting, told The Times the discussion showed it is still very early to come to a final decision. He said the issue will not be raised at the heads of state and of government summit staring in Brussels today but will continue in the new year.

Sources close to the meeting said the old member states have still not committed themselves to give priority to the new members. If candidates from the old member states are eliminated, Malta will be competing with two other member: the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

The sources also said the Czech Republic is using some "heavy" tactics in order to assure that the agency went its way. At the European Parliament building in Brussels, Czech MEPs have already displayed posters stating that the seat of the Galileo Agency will be in Prague.

Government sources said Malta will be continuing to lobby to host the agency during the coming weeks and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is expected to use today's encounter with his counterparts during the summit to push forward Malta's bid. Malta's diplomatic lobbying campaign is being coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Galileo agency, already functioning temporarily from Brussels, will be controlling a new EU satellite system scheduled to come on stream in 2008.

This is the second time, since accession, that Malta is competing to host an EU agency. The first attempt was to host the border control agency Frontex but the final decision favoured Warsaw.

Apart from Malta, the other candidates are the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, Greece and Italy.