UK ‘strongly objects’ to being excluded from EU’s Galileo satellite programme after Brexit, document says

UK government warns Brussels plans to deny Britain access could cost bloc €1bn

British officials have issued a “strong objection” to EU plans to exclude the UK from the bloc’s new satellite project Galileo after Brexit.

As the row over the sat-nav system intensifies, the UK government has warned Brussels that plans to deny Britain access could also cost the bloc €1bn and a three-year delay.

The leaked UK negotiating paper to the BBC outlines how Britain wants the Galileo project to be a “core component” of a future UK-EU security relationship.

The move comes after Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, said Britain will review its contribution to Galileo earlier this this week, adding that the UK will “plan for alternative systems in this crucial area”.

The UK has so far spent £1.2bn on Galileo, Europe’s answer to the US GPS system, and business secretary Greg Clark has been taking legal advice on whether the UK can reclaim the cash.

“It will not be straightforward to effectively fulfil all Galileo security work elsewhere,” the paper adds.

It states: “The UK therefore has a strong objection to its ongoing exclusion from security-related discussions and exchanges pertaining to the post-2019 development of Galileo and the PRS which serves to limit UK assurance in he programme and discourage UK industrial participation.

“Current EU restrictions on the UK participation will have implications for the ceiling placed on future UK-EU security cooperation.”

British officials add that the UK and EU should seek an “urgent resolution” to the planned exclusion, “to keep open the possibility of future UK participation in Galielo”.

But the document also emerges amid reports of divisions emerging within the EU itself over the hard-line stance adopted by the Commission over Britain’s exclusion from Galileo after withdrawal from the bloc in 2019.

According to The Times, French officials have privately told the Commission their displeasure at the proposals to exclude UK government and military users after Brexit.