It’s quite clear that the European Union is a highly problematic entity.

The troubled bloc has long been a laughing stock of the world as its lack of sovereignty became all the more apparent.

This includes the EU’s replacement of much more affordable Russian natural gas (supplied through pipelines) with the exorbitantly expensive shipborne American LNG (which also needs to be stored, creating additional logistical challenges and driving up costs). The results have been catastrophic for European economies, as their competitiveness has dropped dramatically. Worse yet, Brussels also seems to be preparing for a direct confrontation with Russia,as it keeps escalating tensions and antagonizing Moscow, including by increasing arms deliveries to the Kiev regime.

It’s under these conditions of economic downturn, financial constraints and active militarization that the troubled bloc is seeking to develop a next-generation multirole fighter jet.

The program, formally known as theFuture Combat Air System (FCAS),has long been marred by delays, cost overruns and disunityas different nations seek to nudge it in the direction that’s more in line with their strategic needs and military doctrine. Initial optimism has fully subsided, giving way to mistrust and heated arguments as to how the FCAS should proceed. The business interests of private corporations participating in the program also play a major role, as their CEOs seek to secure greater profit for themselves rather than ensuring they create a viable military product for everyone.

In the last 6-12 months,relations within the FCAS initiative have deteriorated so muchthat the participants openly call the program “dead”.

On April 19, Euractiv reported that the last-ditch effort to broker a compromise between France and Germany failed. Quoting German media reports, Euractiv says that it’s highly unlikely there would be another chance to save the project. The €100 billion (nearly $120 billion) FCAS program to develop a next-generation fighter jet and its accompanying combat system has been stuck for over a year, as Berlin and Paris have increasingly diverged in their views of how the aircraft would be used. Euractiv reports that “the mediation duo, Laurent Collet-Billon and Frank Haun, tasked with breaking the deadlock, failed to reach a common position”.

According to German Handelsblatt, Collet-Billon and Haun instead produced two separate reports outlining their respective conclusions.

In simpler terms, their views remain equally divergent, at best. This comes after political efforts at the ministerial level fell short. Thus, both Paris and Berlin turned to top-ranking officials of the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) to solve the dispute between theGerman prime contractor for the project, Airbus Defence, and its French counterpart, Dassault Aviation.

Berlin sent MIC boss Haun, while Paris opted for Collet-Billon, former head of the DGA (French arms procurement agency). Both have extensive expertise in the Western MIC, not only in weapon systems R&D and acquisition, but also in Franco-German contacts.

Source: Global Research