BRUSSELS, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Europe will go ahead with a $4.7 billion plan to build a next-generation weather satellite system, as participating nations say they've agreed to the financing.
Eumetsat, the international agency charged with looking after Europe's Meteosat weather satellites, said Friday all participating nations had agreed to the program, the BBC reported.
The new system should guarantee European access to space-acquired meteorological data until at least the late 2030s, Eumetsat officials said.
Full approval came after a decision by Belgium's caretaker government to support the project financially.
The country has been without a ruling administration since a general election in June, and was unable to commit the necessary funds a meeting of the 26-nation Eumetsat organization in December. The caretaker government has indicated Belgium will honor its commitments.
Eumetsat Director-General Lars Prahm said he welcomed the news.
"It was not an easy process and the overall financial situation in Europe certainly did not help but I am very pleased to see that all member states have now approved a vital program which will assure the future of Eumetsat's geostationary observations over Europe, Africa and the Atlantic Ocean over the next few decades," he said.
