Aerospace union leaders from Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain were in Le Bourget yesterday to step up pressure on the German government to make a rapid and positive decision on the future of the Eurofighter EF2000 project.
Speaking at a DASA-hosted press conference yesterday, the quartet's spokesperson Ingrid Lüllmann from Daimler-Benz Aerospace says: "We've had talks with German parliamentarians and if there's no positive decision soon, we can't rule out the possibility of major demonstrations and protests in Bonn.
"If the final decision is negative- or delayed much longer- Chancellor Kohl will no longer retain any credibility for his stance on Europe. He, and we, need a positive decision, very, very soon.
Short-time
"DASA has already announced that some key workers will be put on short-time working if the go-ahead isn't given by the end of July. If we get as far as the summer shut-down in August without knowing, DASA will start to close some factories."
The labour representatives claim that the future of Eurofighter affects up to 70,000 workers in around 5,000 companies in Europe.
They say that above and beyond its technical significance, the aircraft represents a decisive element in both the future of the EU and its defence policy.
Furthermore, they explain, Eurofighter will help to limit the technical supremacy of the USA, as well as reducing European dependence on American products.
Source: Flight Daily News