5 Global navigation satellite system
| (32068)
14701/10
COM (10) 550
| Draft Decision on the detailed rules for access to the public regulated service offered by the global navigation satellite system established under the Galileo programme
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| Legal base | Article 172 TFEU; co-decision; QMV
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| Document originated | 8 October 2010
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| Deposited in Parliament | 14 October 2010
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| Department | Transport
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 4 November 2010
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | Not yet known
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
5.1 The EU has a two-phase policy for developing a global navigation
satellite system (GNSS). The first phase, GNSS 1, is the European
Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) programme. The
second phase, GNSS 2, is the programme, named Galileo, to establish
a new satellite navigation constellation with appropriate ground
infrastructure. Galileo is based on the presumption that Europe
ought not to rely indefinitely on the GPS (the US Global Positioning
System) and GLONASS (the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System)
systems, augmented by EGNOS. Galileo is being carried out in conjunction
with the European Space Agency[10]
and there are a number of agreements in place or being negotiated
with third countries about cooperation in the project.
5.2 It is intended that Galileo will allow provision
of five services. These are known as the:
- Open Service (OS), free of
charge at the point of use — a basic service, but it is
expected to potentially offer greater accuracy and coverage than
GPS;
- Commercial Service (CS), offering for a fee added
value for more demanding uses — that is expected to be professional
users who need superior accuracy and guaranteed service;
- Safety of Life Service (SoL), for safety-critical
applications that require high integrity — this will have
the same accuracy as the Open Signal, but with a service guarantee
providing high reliability;
- Search and Rescue Service (SAR), to complement
the current COSPAS-SARSAT system (International Satellite Search
and Rescue System founded by Canada, France, the former USSR and
the USA in 1988 and with 33 countries now participating) —
the service is more advanced than any comparable existing service:
it relays the distress signal and location to the nearest rescue
centre and informs the sender that that signal has been received
and that help is on its way; and
- Public Regulated Service (PRS), a high-performance,
encrypted service for authorised civil government applications
— such as for such as national security, law enforcement
agencies, customs and excise. The potential users will need a
service which is useable, available, reliable and secure. The
main benefit of this service will be its greater resistance to
jamming and interference than the other four services, the fact
that it will remain operational if other services are turned off
or locally denied (jammed) in times of crisis and the ability
to deny signals to specific receivers and user groups.
5.3 From early in 1999 previous Committees have reported
to the House on many aspects of the Galileo project, most recently
in October 2009.[11]
The matter has been debated four times in European Standing Committee,
most recently on 26 November 2007,[12]
and once on the Floor of the House.[13]
We ourselves have reported on a Commission Communication: Action
plan on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) applications.[14]
The document
5.4 The Commission's draft Decision relates to the
PRS, which will provide a highly accurate positioning service
to specific government-designated users requiring a high continuity
of service and access to which will be controlled. The draft Decision
sets out the high-level rules governing access to the PRS, including:
- "PRS participants",
that is Member States, the Council, the Commission and authorised
EU agencies, third countries and international organisations,
shall designate a "competent PRS authority";
- competent authorities shall agree the users of
the service and monitor the manufacture, ownership and use of
PRS receivers — uses may be related to security;
- competent authorities shall comply with common
minimum standards, a framework for which is set out in the annex
to the Decision and is subject to future revision and added detail
under delegated acts of the Commission; and
- if application of the Decision could undermine
the security of Member States or the EU, recourse would be to
the procedures in Council Joint Action 2004/552/CFSP of 12 July
2004 "on aspects of the operation of the European satellite
radio-navigation system affecting the security of the European
Union".[15]
Member States will be able to take their own decisions
regarding the use, or not, of the PRS and the nature of its use.
5.5 Switzerland, which is negotiating a cooperation
agreement on satellite navigation with the Commission and Norway,
which has already negotiated a cooperation agreement (likely to
enter into force in the next few months once Member States have
signed), have expressed an interest in using the PRS. The draft
Decision would require these countries to enter into a security
agreement with the EU. As members of the European Space Agency,
Switzerland and Norway contributed to the early parts of the project,
as part of their agreement with the Commission they will contribute
towards the cost of Galileo.
The Government's view
5.6 The Minister of State, Department for Transport
(Mrs Theresa Villiers) says that:
- the Government is considering
its approach to the PRS in the light of this proposal, including
the potential user organisations in the UK, the likely costs and
potential charges for the PRS and the most appropriate organisation
to deliver PRS management in the UK;
- if it decides to use the PRS, national legislation
would be required in order to allow the UK designated competent
PRS authority to authorise PRS users and to determine the system
of penalties applicable in the event of non-compliance;
- the Government will also consider the issue of security-related
use of the PRS — an important factor in this assessment
is the successful joint bid by the UK and France to host the Galileo
Security Monitoring Centre, referred to in the proposed Decision
as the "Security Centre";
- this will monitor the PRS for possible electronic
attack and will administer crypto keys for PRS receivers
— it is critical to assurance of the whole Galileo system;
- the Commission accepted the UK's and France's
offer in February 2010 and the two governments are working with
the Commission, the European GNSS Agency and the European Space
Agency to define the best infrastructure to host the centre;
- the Commission's Explanatory Memorandum notes
that the draft Decision has not been subjected to an impact assessment;
- this is regrettable and the Government will push
for transparency over the assessments made by the Commission in
support of its proposal; and
- in particular, it will press for information
on whether the Commission will charge for access to the PRS and
on how the European GNSS Agency, which may be called upon to act
as a competent PRS authority, will be funded to perform such a
role.
Conclusion
5.7 We note that the Government is considering
its position in relation to the Public Regulated Service and security-related
use of the service and is pressing the Commission for information
which should have been in an impact assessment. So before considering
this draft Decision further we should like to hear from the Government
about developments on these matters. Meanwhile the document remains
under scrutiny.
10 See http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/About_ESA/SEMW16ARR1F_0.html
and http://www.esa.int/esaNA/index.html. Back
11
(30902) 13066/09: see HC 19-xxix (2008-09), chapter 8 (28 October
2009). Back
12
See Gen Co Debs, European Standing Committee, cols. 3-40. Back
13
See HC Deb, 2 July 2007, cols. 763-87. Back
14
(31718) 11137/10 + ADDs 1-2: see HC 428-ii (2010-11), chapter
19 (15 September 2010). Back
15
See OJ L 246 , 20/07/2004 P. 30-31.
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