The Czech Republic is to host the headquarters of the European Union's planned Galileo satellite navigation (satnav) system, EU member states as agreed on Friday. The system is meant to give the EU its own worldwide navigation system, similar to the US GPS and Russia's GLONASS. EU officials see it as a crucial boost to the bloc's high technology industries. EU ministers at a meeting in Brussels agreed to let the Czech Republic host the headquarters of the system after they rejected a rival bid from the Netherlands, dpa cited diplomats at the meeting as saying. Galileo is due to begin basic operations in 2014, and ultimately to offer 32 satellites covering the globe. The EU has already agreed with Norway that it will be allowed to build base stations on the Arctic island of Svalbard and in Norway's Antarctic territories.
