America’s satnav monopoly must be broken – even if it takes the EU to do it

Debates between columnists can be tiresome, but Douglas Murray writes so well that when he is wrong he is dangerous. I think he may be wrong about the European Union’s ‘Galileo’ project (‘Costs in space’, 13 November), and though bereft of his certainties, I should not let the other side to this argument go by default.

Galileo is the EU’s answer to the Americans’ Global Positioning System (GPS). It aims to do the same thing: to enable any receiver to pinpoint its position in the world very precisely. It is fair to say (as Mr Murray does) that Galileo is behind schedule and over budget. It’s also fair to say (as Mr Murray does) that when it comes to delays and overruns, the EU has a poor record. The fact that our own Ministry of Defence’s incompetence at procurement leaves Brussels standing, or that the Pentagon, too, is notorious for haywire timetabling and budgeting in grands projets at the leading edge of military and space technology, does not excuse the EU from Mr Murray’s indictments.