President Emmanuel Macron of France, in a speech to British parliamentarians, said the UK should boost its investment in space-related businesses. On July 9th he was meeting privately with UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer where it is possible that the UK’s investment in OneWeb could be on their agenda.
Macron, in his speech, argued that the UK, despite Brexit, could not stay on the sidelines of Europe, “because defence and security, competitiveness, democracy – the very core of our identity – are connected across Europe as a continent”.
It is not known whether extra cash from the UK to maintain its stake in OneWeb will be discussed, or whether the UK could join the important IRIS2 super-secure satellite project.
Currently, because of the French state’s increased investment in Eutelsat and OneWeb, the UK’s initial £400 million ($500m) stake – protected with a so-called ‘golden share’ – is much less than the 11 per cent originally secured in 2020.
This £400 million investment, alongside a similar amount from Bharti Global, secured a significant stake in OneWeb for the UK. The UK government’s investment was part of a broader strategy to advance the UK’s position in the space sector. At the time, the official UK line was: “The UK government will now have a significant stake in what will become a single, powerful, global space company, working on the sound financial footing needed to make the most of the technological advantages it has to compete in the highly-competitive global satellite industry, against companies around the world.”
“The UK government will retain the special share and its exclusive rights over OneWeb – securing the company’s future at the centre of the combined group’s global LEO business, national security controls over the network, and first-preference rights over domestic industrial opportunities,” said a UK government statement on July 26th 2022, in time with the formal merger of Eutelsat and OneWeb.