France, Germany seek common stance on aerospace firm merger

The leaders of France and Germany will seek a common position at a series of meetings this week on a €34.5bn defence merger that could involve them having to give up strategic influence in aerospace group EADS.

After talks on a tie-up between EADS and Britain’s BAE Systems were leaked last week, officials across Europe have been setting out their views on the deal.

While no government has spoken out directly against the merger, and officials seem to see benefits in creating a company that would have far more weight on the world stage, there are concerns that too many demands from politicians could result in the deal being scrapped.