NICOSIA, April 24 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday tasked their defence ministries with continuing to work on the contentious Franco-German
France, Germany Push Forward With FCAS Fighter Jet Project Amid Disputes
Franco-German Cooperation on the FCAS Fighter Jet Project
Leaders Task Defence Ministries to Continue Efforts
NICOSIA, April 24 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday tasked their defence ministries with continuing to work on the contentious Franco-German FCAS fighter jet project, officials said.
Project Background and Ongoing Disputes
Plans to develop a futuristic air combat system together with Spain have been hanging by a thread amid a public dispute over control between France's Dassault Aviation and Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain in the 100 billion euro ($116.85 billion) project.
Macron Denies Project Is Dead
"No, not at all," Macron said when asked by a reporter if the FCAS project was dead. The French president said he had just discussed the issue with Merz on the margins of a summit of EU leaders in Cyprus.
"We had a good discussion this morning with the chancellor, and we gave a mandate to our defence ministries to work precisely on several areas, on a range of different issues," he said. "Not just the future combat aircraft, but various levers of cooperation between our two countries."
Official Statements and Next Steps
A German government spokeswoman confirmed the discussion between the two leaders.
"The Chancellor and the President instructed their defence ministers to continue working on various areas of cooperation and to agree on the next steps. This work will be completed in the coming weeks," the spokeswoman said.
Challenges and Future Prospects for the FCAS Project
Differing Timelines and Leadership Disputes
On Wednesday, Germany and France's defence ministers had offered differing timelines for a decision on the fighter jet project, with one saying the two countries' leaders would decide soon and the other saying mediators had sought more time to discuss the matter.
The dispute centres on leadership of the core fighter element of plans to build an interconnected fleet of crewed planes and armed drones under a common digital umbrella.
Potential Outcomes and Political Implications
Insiders have been expecting Germany and France to abandon development of the joint fighter jet but continue cooperation on drones and the so-called combat cloud, or digital backbone, which would enable data exchange between jets, drones and other sensors such as ground radar. But rowing back the plan would be politically awkward for Macron.
Financial Context
($1 = 0.8558 euros)
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Bertrand Boucey in Paris and Andreas Rinke in Nicosia; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
