There is a crisis in Paris and Berlin: a European fighter jet is in the air

There is a crisis in Paris and Berlin
European fighter jet hangs in the air

A European armaments project worth billions is in crisis: France and Germany are working on a fighter jet, but instead of community spirit, distrust and elbows rule. A round of crises should now bring about the breakthrough, but behind the scenes Paris is longing for other partners.

According to security and industry circles, Germany and France are making a fresh attempt to save the more than 100 billion euro project of a joint European fighter jet. At the beginning of February, Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron failed to resolve the dispute over the distribution of tasks in the development of the jet. It is still unclear when the next, more than five billion euro tranche of development funds can be released, said the insiders of the Reuters news agency.

There was mistrust between Berlin and Paris and there were different ideas about the project that was to bring European cooperation in defense forward. The air combat system known under the abbreviation FCAS is to gradually replace the German Eurofighter and the French Rafale from 2040. But France, Germany and Spain are arguing how the production shares are divided among the companies. The fighter jet was being developed under French leadership, but German industry had to be sufficiently involved in it, stressed Merkel, and urged an agreement within a few weeks.

Ministerial meeting on the issue of copyright

In order to find a solution, the armaments state secretaries from Germany, France and Spain met with representatives of the Airbus, Dassault and Indra companies involved in the construction at the armaments authorities in Paris. On Thursday, the ministers Florence Parly and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer wanted to talk about the topic at a virtual meeting in the afternoon. There is also the question of who should ultimately own the intellectual property rights. Germany is demanding concessions from France that the jointly developed technology can also be used for its own projects.

Behind France's tough stance, there is also a power struggle between Airbus and Dassault, said one of the insiders. A French MP has already expressed fundamental doubts about the feasibility of the FCAS project. "Honestly, it would be a lot easier for us to work with the UK because we have the same military culture," he told Reuters. The British, together with Sweden and Italy, have their own fighter jet program under the name Tempest.

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