In his speech, Professor Last dismissed the concept independence from the US and debunked the idea that Galileo will guarantee a major new industry in Europe. He said, 'Independence has proved to be a myth.  The mass market demanded technical compatibility between Galileo and GPS, not a separate and different Galileo. And US national security blocked Europe’s freedom to operate Galileo without US cooperation. So free to air Galileo has become essentially another version of GPS.

‘And that major new industry? Well, Galileo has stimulated those companies that design and launch satellites. But for every satellite you launch, there are a million users on the Earth. Here is where the money’s made or lost.' Professor Last also accused Europe of having ‘ignored the elephant in the room’ and of having squandered opportunities due to ‘pork barrel politics’. He said, 'Galileo once promised a technically superior system to GPS, to be delivered in 2008, which starts in two months’ time. The Galileo schedule has slipped roughly two years per annum. That window of opportunity has now slammed shut, lost largely to the pork barrel politics of which nation got which part of the work.'

Currently, the US has a new and better GPS on the way. Russia’s GLONASS is being upgraded and China, Japan, and India are each planning their own satellite navigation system. One of them could well be in place before Galileo.

Professor Last said that in his view, Europe has ‘turned its back’ on all other navigation solutions to focus on Galileo and demanded a ‘new vision’ of how Galileo will be funded and operated, pointing out there are thousands of people whose jobs depend on the satellite navigation system. He also pointed out that whereas the US identified serious vulnerabilities in GPS with the 2001 Volpe Report, they have since invested in major efforts to close those loopholes and to find a backup terrestrial system. Europe has barely stared its investigation.

Last said, 'The Commission’s response to the Volpe Report was a statement that Galileo would be largely immune to interference; that’s the same Galileo that shares frequencies with, and is technically compatible with, the vulnerable GPS.  Europe has been in denial as to the vulnerability of satellite navigation.'

He concluded by calling for all stakeholers to 'Get this show back on the road, travelling to a sensible, realistic and sustainable future policy for all radionavigation in Europe.'