This is an interesting Brexit story, important to clarify that there are two different issues at stake here (thread):
1) UK industrial interests: The Commission through the European Space Agency (ESA), is currently managing a competition for a set of Galileo contracts.
1) UK industrial interests: The Commission through the European Space Agency (ESA), is currently managing a competition for a set of Galileo contracts.
(Galileo is Europe's own global navigation satellite system, designed as a competitor to the United States’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, and China’s Beidou. Plan is for Galileo to be fully operational 2020).
Until now, a British company has been the contractor for Galileo’s payload electronics. However, because under current transition arrangements the UK cannot be granted access to sensitive EU-only information, the EU has introduced a break clause ->
The break clause gives EU the right to cancel existing Galileo contracts without penalty once a supplier is no longer based in an EU member state, thus in effect preventing UK companies from bidding even while the UK is still an EU member.
The EU is (understandably) privileging industrial interests of EU members that might benefit from this arrangement (🇫🇷), the UK is (understandably) upset.
There is another space-and-Brexit issue though, and it's important to make the distinction between 1) and
2) UK security interests: The UK is worried it might lose access to PRS.
What's PRS?
2) UK security interests: The UK is worried it might lose access to PRS.
What's PRS?
While Galileo’s basic services of positioning and timing information will be open to all, the EU is also developing the so-called Public Regulated Service (PRS), a more robust and resilient encrypted capability reserved for EU member states military and government.
PRS is designed to ensure service remains functional even if, for example,an adversary jams all other GPS and Galileo transmissions, using different radio frequencies to broadcast its encrypted, jam-resistant signals.
Both the Norwegian MoD and the United States Defence Department have said that they would like access to PRS.
Both governments have submitted formal requests for PRS access to the European Commission. None of them have yet been granted access ->
Both governments have submitted formal requests for PRS access to the European Commission. None of them have yet been granted access ->
-> mainly because because sorting out access even among the 28 EU nations has been complicated - security provisions among member-states differ.
The Commission’s position is that Britain, like Norway and the US, would have to get in line for an agreement on access to PRS (in line with the PRS Decision 1104/2011/EU and the PRS Common Minimum Standards).
There is no indication when such an agreement could be struck, and Britain is right to ask for a guarantee. (The EU has also already set in motion the move of a Galileo back-up agency from UK to Spain, again bc of security concerns.)
This shows: that a crucial element of the UK-EU post Brexit security treaty and the defence cooperation arrangements will have to be an information sharing agreement.
But it also shows: fall-out from industrial post-Brexit competition can poison the atmosphere and negatively impact broader security discussions.
For the sake of European security UK&EU should be careful not to blur the lines between 1) Galileo contracts and 2) PRS access. (end)
For the sake of European security UK&EU should be careful not to blur the lines between 1) Galileo contracts and 2) PRS access. (end)
