ASD voices concerns over lack of funding and threat of production moving overseas
European governments need to fund aerospace research or risk losing airframe manufacture to Asia, the continent’s industry association has warned.
François Gayet, who recently took over as secretary general of the Aerospace & Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), says there is a clamour by governments of several European nations that lack their own aerospace industries to reduce funding for research projects in the next round of European Union budgets. Gayet says the seventh tranche of funding for research framework programme (FP7) needs to be at least double the sum awarded in the previous stage, if a shift of airframe work to Asian countries is to be avoided.
ASD, which represents 30 aerospace associations from 20 European countries, is fighting against moves to reduce FP7 funding by one-quarter as countries haggle over the EU’s 2007-13 budget.
The European Commission is expected to submit a new draft on financing priorities in early February and aerospace is fearing it will lose out in favour of projects in the new member states.
Gayet is warning that, without sufficient research funds, European industry will fall behind other players such as the USA, but also Asian countries, which are eager to develop high-technology sectors. “Some people are saying ‘aerospace got support in the past, so it doesn’t need it now’, but it’s a matter of competing because China and the USA get support from their governments,” he says.
Airbus will make a decision in the middle of this year on whether to establish a single-aisle final-assembly line in China, with a view to starting deliveries in 2008. “It is not our aim to stop Airbus investing in China or India – that’s their business – but rather we need to create the environment of competitiveness in Europe,” says Gayet.
JUSTIN WASTNAGE / BRUSSELS
Source: Flight International
