Brexit costs Britain data center for Europe's satnav system

BERLIN (AP) - Officials have decided to move a data center for the European Union's new satellite navigation system out of Britain because of Brexit.

The European Commission says diplomats voted Thursday to relocate the Galileo Security Monitoring Center's backup site from Swanwick to Spain.

In a statement Friday, the commission said it was "a consequence of the U.K. withdrawal from the EU."

Spain welcomed the decision, which needs formal approval Wednesday, saying it will create about 100 jobs at the new site on the outskirts of Madrid.

Galileo is Europe's answer to the U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS, which has long been the mainstay of satellite navigation devices in cars, planes and mobile phones.

Britain has already lost the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority because of Brexit.