U.K. May Pull Out of Galileo Project With EU Playing `Hardball'

The U.K. may withdraw from the European Union’s Galileo satellite navigation system if the bloc continues to play “hardball” over the level of future British involvement, a minister said.

The EU has made it harder in recent months for British companies to win contracts for the next stages of the 10 billion-euro ($12 billion) Galileo program, and has also raised the prospect of excluding Britain from the project’s Public Regulated Service -- the encrypted navigation usage for government and defense purposes.