Brussels, 06/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The choice, announced by the European Commission on 2 January (see EUROPE 10545), of German firm OHB Systems AG to build the next Galileo satellites is not much to the taste of MEP Christine de Veyrac (EPP, France). This is the second such contract awarded to OHB, regrets de Veyrac, strongly critical of the Commission's using only one supplier “when having two suppliers would reduce risks, and would sharpen competition and performance!” She laments the lack of long-term vision shown by the Commission which “is focusing on a financial parameter which has been distorted since, by awarding all the contracts to OHB; this company is able to make economies of scale and absorb fixed costs over a larger number of satellites, something its competitors have not been able to do”. She would have preferred the French firm EADS-Astrium to have been awarded the contract: “France funds a large part of the European space policy, so it is not right that it should not receive anything in return”. De Veyrac intends to take the matter up directly with the European commissioner responsible and will shortly be writing to him. Astrium, it should be noted, won the contract to launch four Galileo satellites into orbit. (MD/transl.rt)