Call for the building and commercialisation of a new satellite for Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus emerged from a ministerial meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Feb. 14. According to a memorandum issued following the meeting, the three governments will not take part directly in the commercial exploitation of satellite communications but will give a licence to a telecommunications operator, which will be responsible for the realisation of the project and for “starting the satellite” project.

A technical committee comprising one representative from each country will have to propose a co-ordinated procedure for choosing a licensee. The deadline for starting the satellite project is August 2004 and the procedure for choosing a licensee should be completed by August 2002. A representative from the Vatican attended the meeting, suggesting an interest by the Vatican in leasing some capacity.