The hosting agreement on the GSMC has been signed yesterday at the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Paris.
Yesterday evening, Vice-President of the European Commission Antonio Tajani, responsible for Enterprise and Industry, the French Minister for European Affairs Repentin, and the Executive Director of the European GNSS Agency, Carlo des Dorides signed an agreement on the functioning of the main Galileo Security Monitoring Centre (GSMC) located at St. Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.
The role of the Galileo Security Monitoring Centre is to supervise the security of the system established under the Galileo programme and the satellite navigation services provided worldwide by that system. It also plays an important role in the management of the access to the public regulated service, one of the five services to be provided by Galileo which will be used by authorised secured users (police, customs, defence applications, civil protection, etc.).
Vice-President Tajani said: “The Security Monitoring Centre is a vital component of the Galileo infrastructure as it will ensure the security of Europe’s navigation system. Today’s agreement with France is a further milestone towards the launch of early services next year.”
The GSMC will be operated by the European GNSS Agency.
"The very good collaboration between the GSA and France for this centre is crucial for the success of Galileo and its future" confirmed Carlo des Dorides, Executive Director of the GSA.
Under the terms of the agreement, France will provide the facilities to host the main GSMC and take measures to ensure its functioning and the continuity of its mission. A staff of approximately 30 professionals will move to Saint Germain en Laye at the end of 2013. A back-up centre is being put in place in Swanwick, in the United Kingdom.
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