Brussels, 03/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Eutelsat consortium has withdrawn from the race to run the future European satellite navigation systems, Galileo. A Eutelsat spokesperson said on Wednesday, according to Reuters, that the consortium headed by Eutelsat had decided it was not in a position to meet the strict requirements formulated for the contract. In February 2004, the Galileo joint venture selected three consortiums for the bid for the Galileo contract - Eutelsat (of companies Eutelsat, Hispasat, LogicaCMG and AENA), Inavsat (of companies Immarsat Ventures, EADS Space and Thales) and a third consortium composed of companies Vinci Concessions, Alcatel Participations and Finmeccanica (see Europe of 7 February). Reuters explains that Inavsat has confirmed lodging its application on 1 September, in line with the deadline. The third consortium also lodged its application on Wednesday, explained Alcatel sources. The winner of the Galileo contract will be announced at the beginning of next year.