EU court dismisses OHB complaint about Galileo satellites contract

OHB SE

26/04/2023 10:37

PARIS, April 26 (Reuters) - The European Union Court of
Justice said on Wednesday it had dismissed German satellite
company OHB System's  OHBG.DE  complaint about a contract
awarded to competitors Thales and Airbus to supply new
satellites for Europe's Galileo programme.
    Following a 2018 European Space Agency (ESA) tender for
next-generation satellites for the Galileo global navigation
satellite system, the European Commission in 2021 selected
Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space Italia,
rejecting a bid by its traditional supplier OHB System, which
has built most of Galileo's current operating satellites. 
    OHB System had asked the Commission and ESA to suspend the
tender after its former chief operating officer (COO) was hired
by Airbus and asked for Airbus to be excluded from the tender,
which the Commission rejected in January 2021.
    The court said the allegation that the COO hiring would have
given Airbus an unfair advantage was vague and hypothetical, and
it also ruled that the Commission was not required to conduct an
investigation into those allegations. 
    An OHB spokesperson said the company could not immediately
comment.
    

 (Reporting by GV De Clercq
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((geert.declercq@tr.com;))