NICOSIA — France and Germany will take more time to try to break the deadlock on a joint fighter jet project.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the contentious project over coffee on the terrace at the Landmark Hotel in Nicosia, before joining other EU leaders at an informal summit.
“We have had a good discussion this morning with Mr. Chancellor and we have tasked our defense ministries to work on several axes, on different topics, not only the next-generation fighter jet, but different cooperation venues for our countries,” Macron said as he entered the summit.
“Our defense ministries have this mandate for the coming weeks; we continue to progress,” Macron said.
The project, known as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), has stalled for months because of bitter disagreements between France’s Dassault and Germany’s Airbus Defence and Space.
FCAS, which also includes Spain, is meant to replace Germany’s Eurofighter and France’s Rafale jets by around 2040. The program includes a warplane, which is the main bone of contention, but also drones and a combat cloud.
At the previous EU summit in Brussels in March, Macron and Merz discussed the issue and launched mediation between French and German industrialists to break the deadlock, with a deadline of April.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said this week that the deadline to reach a deal had been extended by 10 days, but German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters Wednesday that he expected a decision this week.
Macron’s comments suggest that several weeks might still be needed but that, at least for France, a solution is within reach.
Asked whether the project was dead, Macron said, “No, not at all.”
Laura Kayali contributed to this report from Paris.
