The latest news on Germany, France and Spain. It has just been announced that the three countries will hold talks in October to revive their joint fighter jet programme, which has been hit by repeated setbacks and disputes over industrial leadership.
Berlin confirmed that defence ministers from the three nations will seek to resolve long-standing disagreements and present leaders with options for a final decision later this year, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday.
"We will all pull together, and national interests will need to be put aside by one or the other or all of us. It is clear we are damned to succeed, we need this project," Pistorius told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Margarita Robles.
The project, seen as central to Europe's future air power, has been slowed by competing national interests and differing visions between key defence companies. Officials stressed that failure is not an option and urged a faster pace to prevent further delays.