Merz says he will fight for future of Franco-German fighter jet project

BERLIN, March 27 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday he is doing everything in his power to ​salvage the crisis-hit FCAS fighter jet programme with ‌France and Spain and to generally foster greater cooperation within Europe’s defence industry.

“The future of German industry is now ​at stake, and this industry is heavily dependent ​on the defence sector,” Merz told a conference ⁠hosted by the FAZ newspaper, adding that he ​would “fight until the very last moment” for joint European ​projects like FCAS.

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The chancellor said two moderators - one from France, one from Germany - have been appointed to come up with ways ​to secure the future of the project by ​the end of next month.

The plans to develop a futuristic air ‌combat ⁠system are 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 ​project.

The chancellor also ​said that ⁠the German government would purchase a stake in KNDS, the Franco-German maker of ​Leopard tanks, as it seeks to preserve ​influence after ⁠a planned listing later this year valuing the company at 20-25 billion euros.

Reuters reported in February that Berlin was preparing ⁠to ​buy a minority stake in ​KNDS of at least 25.1%, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reporting by ​Rachel More and Alexander Huebner; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

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