Galileo: latest salvo in war of words

In a speech delivered at the EU Institute for Security Studies Conference in Brussels earlier this week, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, insisted that Brexit meant that UK companies will not be able to participate in the development of security-sensitive matters, such as the manufacturing of security modules for the Public Regulated Service (PRS) element of the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system. As distinct from Galileo’s service for consumers and businesses, Galileo’s encrypted PRS provides navigation and timing signals for use by government agencies, armed forces and “blue light” services.

In his speech, Michel Barnier made four key points:

“We need to put the cooperation on Galileo between the EU and the UK on a new basis.

“In doing so, our responsibility is to maintain the autonomy of the EU and to protect our essential security interests.

“The EU's rules on Galileo have been in place for a long time, and are well known to the UK.

“In particular, third countries, and their companies, cannot participate in the development of security sensitive matters, such as the manufacturing of PRS-security modules.”

Although the restriction would not prevent the UK from using Galileo’s encrypted signal, provided that relevant agreements are in place, the UK Space Agency has now written to 13 British companies reminding them of the need for security authorisation for any future work undertaken on Galileo’s highly secure elements and to consult with government before entering into any new contracts.

“I regret that these steps are a necessary consequence of the position taken by the European Commission,” says the letter, adding that while the UK government had threatened to withdraw from Galileo and build its own navigation system (see https://www.geoconnexion.com/articles/uk-space-agency-leads-work-on-options-for-independent-satellite-system/) it was still keen to remain in a project in which it has already invested £1.2 billion.

This latest salvo in a war of words follows a presentation given by the British negotiating team and shown to EU officials which warns that continued access to Galileo’s PRS system is a “test case” for how closely they see Britain and the EU cooperating on security matters after Brexit.

Already, Airbus Defence & Space in Portsmouth is committed to moving all work on Galileo’s ground segment from the UK to France or Germany should it win a European Space Agency contract potentially worth €200 million. In addition, the European Commission is relocating a Galileo backup control centre from the UK to Spain.