France doubts that the United Kingdom will develop its own rival to Galileo.
Galileo was launched in 2003 and is expected to be completed by 2020. An expert said last month that a rival system could cost around £3 billion ($4 billion).
(Reuters)- France does not believe that the United Kingdom will create a rival to the European Union's Galileo satellite navigation system, according to minutes from a meeting between a cabinet minister and parliamentarians.
A dispute over Galileo, a rival to the American GPS, has become a sticking point in Brexit negotiations, after London accused the European Union of excluding British companies from the project.
“Some surprising announcements or positions have been released recently regarding Galileo,” Delphine Geny-Stephann, junior economy minister, told French parliamentarians at the May 17 hearing on Brexit, the minutes of which were released on Monday.
“Considering the cost of the program and the investment it would represent, around 10 billion euros, we find it difficult to imagine that they could do it alone,” she said. “Good luck with that,” replied MP Jean-Louis Bourlanges, according to the minutes.
Galileo was launched in 2003 and is expected to be completed by 2020. An expert said last month that a rival system could cost around £3 billion ($4 billion).
Geny-Stephann was questioned about threats from London to withdraw permits from British companies linked to Galileo.
"I see this, more than anything else, as a negotiating point aimed at opening up talks," she said, according to the minutes.
The British space agency, on behalf of Business Minister Greg Clark, has written to British companies asking them to consult the government before agreeing to new contracts to work on the project, a move aimed at preventing the transfer of technology to companies in the European Union.
Responding to comments made by the French minister on Monday, a spokesperson for the UK Space Agency said that if no agreement is reached on Galileo, the UK will have to consider alternatives to meet its needs.
"Developing a domestic system is economically viable and made possible by the UK's world-leading space sector expertise," the spokesperson said.
The UK told the EU last month that it would demand payment of up to £1 billion if the bloc restricted its access to Galileo.
By Myriam Rivet and Michel Rose