Britain ramped up a Brexit space row with the EU on Thursday, saying it will demand repayment if it is excluded from the Galileo satellite navigation project. Newspaper reports suggested London could seek £1 billion ($1.34 billion, 1.14 billion euros) in compensation for its investment in the programme.
Brussels has said it will deny London access to Galileo's encrypted signals after Brexit, citing legal issues about sharing sensitive security information with a non-member state.
A report issued by Britain's Department for Exiting the European Union said it had "strong objections" to being frozen out of the 10-billion-euro programme and called for an "urgent resolution to the exclusion". "Should the UK's future access be restricted, the UK's past contribution to the financing of space assets should be discussed," the report said. The British report suggested it may have to reopen negotiations on the £39 billion (40-45 billion euros) Brexit "divorce bill" that was agreed in December to make up for its exclusion. It said the deal agreed then had provided for Britain's continued involvement in the Galileo programme, which has important uses in both the civilian and military fields.
[...] Britain played a major role in developing Galileo, an alternative to the US's GPS, which is expected to be fully operational in 2026. It demands continued British access to the secure signal and a right to compete for contracts. Britain is looking into developing its own, separate system if the EU maintains its position, and has also raised the question of Galileo's use of Britain's overseas territories as monitoring bases.
[...] The Times newspaper reported Thursday that the decision to block Britain was being led by a "German-backed clique" in the European Commission, and that it had caused a rift with French officials, who were reportedly unhappy with the plan. Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the Baltic states have also objected to denying Britain access, said the report.
(Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Friday May 25 2018, @10:24PM (11 children)
Britain may win the money. And Britain may lose the money. But either way, the great British people are WINNERS. They exercised the sacred right of all free peoples. And voted to reassert control over their own politics, borders and economy. So they'll have a Country again. They're making Britain British again!! #BritainFirst [twitter.com]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by turgid on Friday May 25 2018, @10:31PM (10 children)
Russia first, America first, Britain first, Italy first, Turkey first! Patriotism first! Who will win? Do we have to have some sort of contest to find out?
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Friday May 25 2018, @10:43PM (1 child)
The Mayor of London said some things about me. I think they’re very rude statements and frankly, tell him, I will remember those statements. They’re very nasty statements. He doesn’t know what I’m all about. He said I'm "ignorant" about Islam. Believe me, I know more about Islam than anybody. And I said, let’s take an I.Q. test. But he told me "no." Lightweight!!!
(Score: 2, Funny) by turgid on Friday May 25 2018, @10:47PM
Talking of mayors of London...
Q: Where does Ken Livingstone buy his Y-fronts?
A: Marxist Spencer's.
See what I did there?
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday May 25 2018, @11:22PM (1 child)
We're actively setting up the next contest, but Iran violates the rule that the US bombs countries with less than 35M people, so I'm not sure how that one will turn out. With some luck, it will spread a bit, and we can finally get another global contest.
The computer said something about the best move being not playing, but who cares about the odds when Bolton and Bibi say it's time to go?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 26 2018, @11:43AM
No such rule is being violated yet, let us note.
(Score: 3, Funny) by driverless on Saturday May 26 2018, @03:12AM
While the real best country in the world doesn't need to go on and on about it, we just quietly know we're best.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 26 2018, @03:42AM
YES! We can call the contest Who's the World Wide Winner (WW3) and televise it on all the major news networks 24/7. Guaranteed eyeballs! Finally once and for all we can establish which country is the greatest and right all wrongs.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 26 2018, @08:49AM
Contest, eh? We could call it... oh i don't know... WWIII
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by crafoo on Saturday May 26 2018, @11:38AM (1 child)
Good work on either not understanding the concept or wilfully lying and misrepresenting it to further your own dogmatic political views.
Citizens of each country putting the well-being of their country and their countrymen first, particularly in terms of domestic policy and law, doesn't mean immediate global confrontation. Surly you are not that naive.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Saturday May 26 2018, @12:07PM
Surely you're not this ignorant? What happened in 1914 and 1939?
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by fritsd on Saturday May 26 2018, @01:20PM
Well, we had some kind of contest on Youtube to determine who was going to be second.
I think it was the brainchild of the Dutch comedian Arjen Lubach.
It even has its own wiki page! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_Second_Counts_(video_contest) [wikipedia.org]
Arjen Lubach video "Netherlands Second" [youtube.com].
My family has never personally been to Ponypark Slagharen, btw. It was a bit far away from where we lived and I was a bit scared of horses.