MADRID (Reuters) -Spain is totally committed to the European fighter jet project FCAS and will work to invigorate it, its defence minister said on Thursday, after Reuters reported this week that disagreements between France and Germany could jeopardise its next phase.
Spain’s defence contractor Indra Sistemas, in which the state holds a large stake, is involved in what is known as the Future Combat Air System programme, alongside Dassault Aviation and Airbus.
“This is an essential and fundamental project that we must invigorate, and we must invigorate it as much as possible,” Margarita Robles told reporters in Berlin. “Spain’s commitment is total and this programme must continue.”
Berlin has blamed French industry for blocking the programme’s next phase by demanding sole leadership of the project, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday he had agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron to make a decision on the future of the FCAS by the end of the year, and Robles said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius had told her he was due to meet his French counterpart on Friday to discuss the issue.
“I hope that from this meeting and the upcoming ones in October, we can give this project a significant boost,” she said after meeting Pistorius.
The multinational defence project aims to develop next-generation fighter jets and related systems for European air forces.
Spain earlier this month said it was no longer considering the option of buying U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets and was choosing between Eurofighter and FCAS, as it refocuses its defence spending, which it has promised to boost to meet NATO commitments, on Europe.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Emma Pinedo, writing by Andrei Khalip; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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