German, French leaders aim for clarity on fighter jet project by end of August, Berlin says

BERLIN, July 24 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday to try to resolve differences over the FCAS Franco-German-Spanish fighter jet project by the end of August, a German government spokesperson said.

At a dinner on the outskirts of Berlin, the two leaders discussed the project, worth more than 100 billion euros ($117.73 billion), which has been dogged by delays and infighting over workshare and intellectual property rights.

"The defence ministers were tasked with evaluating a realistic outlook for further cooperation within the FCAS consortium by the end of August and submitting proposals for resolving existing conflicts," said the German spokesperson.

Dassault Aviation, Airbus, and Indra are involved in the scheme to start replacing French Rafale and German and Spanish Eurofighters with a fifth-generation fighter jet from 2040.

The countries are at odds over the composition of the consortium. France has told Germany it wants a workshare of some 80% in FCAS, a defence industry source told Reuters this month.

Germany expects Dassault to adhere to the existing agreements, the German spokesperson said.

The talks between Merz and Macron also touched on European space policy, Ukraine, the Middle East, and trade talks with the United States, said the spokesperson.

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