Czech PM Mirek Topolanek (right) used an EU leaders’ dinner on Thursday to accuse some western EU states of trying to sabotage Prague’s bid to host a new satellite centre by casting “vague” doubts on its security credentials. “Some member states have... started to ask for new and rather vague criteria of a security manner to be applied,” he said, with Malta, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy also officially in the running to host the headquarters of the EU’s new satellite navigation system, Galileo.

“These member states are sending an unpleasant signal to the new member states that there is a lack of confidence with respect to their capacity to deal with and protect security information,” he added, noting that in 2003 the EU promised to give “preference” to bids from new member states after the 2004 round of enlargement.

A Czech official explained: “They are saying that we might pass information to the US – but this is just negative spin. We could not do this anyway, because it’s encrypted. And I ask you, if you are talking about passing information to the US, then what about (US ally) the UK?”

Czech Transport Minister Ales Rebicek said the deal had been called into question by “all of the countries that are candidates” and by “a group of old member countries”.

Mr Topolanek’s intervention came after a testy EU foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday in which Prague threatened to block any decision on the new agency – that will manage a system designed to rival the US’ well-established “GPS” navigation system – until the new EU states versus old EU states issue is cleared up.

Malta and Slovenia are also in the running for the prestigious institute but, according to EUObserver, the UK is emerging as a strong contender, with new member states so far getting two new EU agencies since 2004 – one on border management in Poland and one on gender equality in Lithuania, while Italy scooped a major food safety agency in 2005.

The horse-trading that surrounds the siting of European agencies is legendary and has provoked spectacular bust-ups.

However, after Monday’s fractious meeting, the list remained 11-strong, with Finland’s Susanna Huovinen remarking: “I can confirm that no one gave up their candidacy during lunch (discussions).”

She said that “security is an important issue” but stressed that all contenders had met the basic criteria for hosting the satellite headquarters.

Prague feels that old member states are reneging on a 2003 commitment to give priority to the 10 new member states when choosing sites for new agencies.

One diplomat from a new member state said: “There is a feeling that the ‘old countries’ are in an agreement to raise new issues” concerning where the headquarters should be located.

The location of agencies is an issue of high politics, as they bring prestige and revenue to the country concerned. They have also led to a whole new line in insults, with Italy’s former prime minister famously telling the Finns they could not host the food agency because they do not know what prosciutto is. The food agency was eventually located in Parma.