The EU’s proposed alternative to the U.S.-run GPS system, the Galileo satellite project, is now nearing the final stages of approval and could be in production within the year. The troubled project has experienced a number of setbacks over the past year, including a budget blowout that has pushed cost estimates to about €4.5 billion ($7 billion), but despite this the German government has confirmed that an accord has been made.

The new project represents a huge chance for Europe’s aerospace and technology industries, especially for German companies, which are currently the most heavily involved. However, the final details won’t be penciled in until the project is passed by the European Parliament, which German transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee told Bloomberg will be in the “next few weeks.”

So far only one of the proposed network of 24 satellites has been put into orbit and there were fears the entire project would be canned until last year when the EU took control after a private-sector group abandoned it.