The EU's satnav system requires the extra €1.5 billion on top of the budgeted €3.4 billion, according to Le Monde.
The 44% increase is required if the system is to be in service by 2013, according to the French paper. Initial in-service date was 2006, although this quickly slipped to 2008 and then - when it became obvious that a public-private initiative would not work - the current 2013.
The paper adds that 'the crisis undoubtedly will complicate the deployment', explaining that the estimate has been communicated recently by the Commission to the European Parliament. It quotes EC Galileo head Paul Verhoef as saying 'The current budget does not enable us to complete Galileo'.
But Le Monde also says that the EC Transport Commissioner 'does not confirm' the figure, which will not be known before September.
It is apparent that this considerable cost overrun cannot be met from the current EC budget and the expenditure would have to be deferred 'beyond 2013' - subject to hard negotiation between Member States in 2011. The budget will also have to cover operating costs estimated at €750 million per year.
The initial €3,4 billion was part-funded from unspent agricultural funds - but it seems that this cannot be repeated.
The paper explains that, without the additional funding, it would not be possible to deploy more than 18 of the planned 30 satellites. The 18 are already under contract with OHB Technology and SSTL, apparently making a €100 million saving on the other bidders.
It seems that the choice of launchers is responsible for the additional costs - the first 10 satellites will be launched by Russian Soyuz launchers, but Ariane 5 has been selected for the remainder.
Taken from Le Monde