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EU working to ‘push’ Britain out of the space race by cancelling Galileo contracts after Brexit

EU working to ‘push’ Britain out of the space race by cancelling Galileo contracts after Brexit

The European Commission is working to "push" British companies out of contracts for the latest phase of work on the EU's Galileo satellite navigat

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The European Commission is working to “push” British companies out of contracts for the latest phase of work on the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system, according to reports.

The body is understood to be calling for the right to cancel existing contracts if a supplier is no longer based in an European Union member state.

The total cost of the latest project is €10bn and managed by the European Space Agency.

The Financial Timesreport that the Commission is demanding that any company kicked out the programme should be asked to finance the cost of finding a replacement supplier.

An UK government official said: “It feels like the UK is being targeted.

“We have been fighting to stay involved in Galileo whereas some European partners are working to push us out.”

The majority of Galileo’s existing satellites have been provided by a consortium of the UK’s SSTL, a subsidiary of Airbus.

British companies with interests in the project include Qinetiq, CGI, Airbus and Scisys.

Responding to the the news, the Tory MP Philip Davies told the Telegraph: This is more evidence that the EU is an inward facing backward looking protection designed to protect inefficient EU businesses and French farmers.

“That is why an outward looking, international, free market country like the U.K. does not belong there.”

To retain access to Galileo after Brexit, the British Government will need to negotiate a new security relationship with the EU.

Under the new terms being called for by the Commission, contracts for the project could be cancelled any time after 2019, just after Brexit.

A senior executive from a UK-based space systems company said: “We may be forced to consider withdrawing from our UK market operations.

Another said: “We will be looking at . . . who is best placed to participate. If you have the option not to do work from the UK this gives you a reason to think that is safer.”

A commission spokesman said that “similar” termination clauses have been standard since 2003, and insisted that the new clause was “not prepared in view of Brexit”.

 

 

 

telegraph.co.uk

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