EU GPS Clone Galileo just won’t die

No it’s not another vampire flick but you could be forgiven for wondering if even a wooden stake driven through it would finally kill off Galileo, the ill conceived EU clone of GPS satellite system.

The EU, for some unfathomable reason (Hubris?, Jealousy?) want their very own system. No matter that there is already one that works fine provided by the US for free that we all use with no problems. No they want to pay through the nose until all our eyeballs bleed just so they can have one too.

The EU had thought they could fund it through a Public/Private partnership with industry bearing the cost. Being business people they decided against spending a fortune developing Betamax years after the whole world had already gone VHS.

Now the Commission is looking to fund it publicly (our tax euros at work). To shore up the existing financial hole they are planning to raid existing agricultural and administrative funds that haven’t already been siphoned off to featherbed some official’s brother-in-law to keep it going.

The more sensible nations, led by Germany, Britain and the Netherlands, who are likely to bear the brunt of much of the cost, have been fighting a rear guard action in Luxembourg.

The Portuguese are gung ho, Mario Lino their Transport Minister said; "We are on the right track,". Tied to it hopefully, with a train due…