Press Release: New law to reinforce independence of satellite security system accreditation at the GSA

On 12 March 2014, the European Commission welcomed the European Parliament vote in favour of a Commission proposal to grant greater independence for the security accreditation aspect of the European Union's satellite navigation programmes, as operated by the European Union's GNSS Agency (GSA). The GSA's main tasks include assisting with the market development of the European Union's satellite navigation system products and also ensuring security accreditation for aspects such as satellites, launchers and sites. The amendment to the GSA regulation will eliminate any potential conflicts of interest by reinforcing the 'Chinese wall' between the part of the GSA that deals with the security accreditation of operations, and the sections that verify compliance with the security rules in place - such as that of the Galileo and EGNOS programmes. The proposed amendment will also align the GSA with the principles of the Common Approach agreed by European institutions for decentralised EU agencies and allow it to recruit necessary additional technical staff.

European Commission: DG Enterprise and Industry: Policies: Satellite navigation: Galileo http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/satnav/galileo/index_en.htm

ESO: Background information: Parliament approves financing for the European satellite navigation programmes until 2020 http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-parliament-approves-financing-for-the-european-satellite-navigation-programmes-until-2020/

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