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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) by FatPhil on Sunday May 27 2018, @10:59AM (3 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday May 28 2018, @12:09AM (2 children)
Because I "kinda know" that is irrelevant. If the EU wanted it to be an EU-only effort, then they shouldn't have done it through the ESA or be so inclusive with non-EU (and even non-ESA) members.
Like a lot of political conflict games, the EU could have chosen ways that didn't hurt the UK and were low public profile. But that might not discourage other countries from leaving the EU. Here, the UK has proven itself to be a trustworthy ally that funded a fair portion of the development of the Galileo system. They don't deserve to be treated like crap just because of a political conflict.
But they are. This illustrates the nasty side of the EU, namely, that it's a roach motel (that is, the lethal trap for roaches that baits and kills them) that one can readily enter, but is very hard to leave.
br. And let us keep in mind that overall this whole conflict happened because of the EU's rather dumb, promiscuous stance towards immigration (particularly from outside the EU) that ignored the wishes of a large portion of the EU population. Where is the democracy in that?
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday May 28 2018, @11:34AM (1 child)
They didn't, so they didn't. None of which changes the fact that the EU acted as the EU, and the UK's involvement was as part of the EU. If they EU change that, then they need to renegotiate their position.
Your clue-resistance is approaching legendary levels.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday May 28 2018, @01:24PM
Well, you happen to be wrong here. So what's the point of your posting?
Irrelevant since the ESA was the agency actually doing Galileo.