Seven years ago a recently promoted British cabinet minister arrived in Brussels with a mission to win favourable headlines back home. On the agenda for the meeting with his European counterparts was the troubled Galileo satellite navigation system which was billions of pounds over budget and in need of another bailout. The minister was intent from preventing any such largesse in the age of British austerity. True, the move would mean that Galileo would not be able to compete with the rival American Global Positioning System (GPS). “We will certainly block any further increased spending in the next two years,” he told journalists covering…

Source: The Times May 24, 2018 16:22 UTC