Sawt Falasteen - Macron says still sees France, Germany developing European fighter jet

The multi-billion-euro project has faltered as disagreements persist between the firms involved -- France's Dassault Aviation and Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain.

Speaking ahead of a EU summit in Cyprus, Macron said that after morning talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the pair had instructed their respective defence ministries to carry on work on a range of issues, including the fighter jet.

"No, not at all," Macron replied, asked by a journalist whether the European FCAS warplane programme was dead in the water.

"We had a good discussion this morning with the Chancellor and we have instructed our defence ministries to work on a number of areas, covering various topics –- not just the fighter jet," Macron said.

"We are continuing to move forward. Europe has never needed unity, greater independence and greater sovereignty more than it does now," he added.

The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme was launched in 2017 to replace France's Rafale jets and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain.

It is often seen as a bellwether of defence and security cooperation between France and Germany as the two EU powerhouses seek to put up a united front in the face of a hostile Russia and wavering US security commitment.

Mediators tasked with salvaging the struggling initiative requested ten more days to deliver their conclusions, the French government said this week after reports suggesting the effort had failed to bear fruit.

A German government spokeswoman confirmed Macron and Merz discussed the fighter jet programme Friday morning and instructed defence ministers to continue work "on various aspects of cooperation and to agree on the next steps."

"This work will be completed in the coming weeks," she said.

K.AbuTaha--SF-PST