Global navigation satellite system (GNSS): rules for access to the public regulated service

The Council agreed on a general approach on rules for access to, and management of, the Public Regulated Service (PRS) provided by the European global navigation satellite system under the Galileo programme and concluded that it needs to continue to be operational even in crisis situations when other services may be cut off. Access to it will be restricted to authorised users, principally governmental bodies such as police, border control or civil protection authorities.

The draft decision contains the following key elements:

·         the Member States, the Council, the Commission and the European External Action Service will have unlimited and uninterrupted access to the service worldwide. Each of them will decide whether to use the PRS within their respective competences, and it is up to them to authorise users and the uses that may be made of the PRS;

·         Member States wishing to use PRS or producing PRS receivers have to designate a PRS authority responsible for managing and monitoring end-users as well as for the manufacture of PRS receivers in accordance with common minimum standards;

·         the production of PRS receivers will require an accreditation process;

·         non-EU countries or international organisations can only become PRS participants if agreements on security procedures and access rules have been concluded with the EU;

·         PRS receivers may be exported only to authorised non-EU countries.

While there was consensus between the Member States on the draft decision, the Commission pointed out that, with regard to the modifications to its initial proposal, it still had some problems of an institutional nature, but was confident that solutions could be found in the future negotiations with the European Parliament, whose approval is also required and which has not yet adopted its position on the proposal. The Council's aim is to reach an agreement with Parliament at first reading.

Some Member States underscored the importance of the security aspects of the PRS and called upon the Commission to make sure that member states' experts would be fully involved in decisions on PRS matters.