Germany and France could accept the merger of Airbus-EADS and British BAE Systems companies 2609122

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Defense News - Germany / France
 
 
Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 10:10 AM
 
Germany and France could accept the merger of Airbus-EADS and British BAE Systems companies.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande held talks in the southwestern German town of Ludwigsburg on Saturday to mark former French president Charles De Gaulle's speech, while the EADS/BAE merger and eurozone banking union weigh heavily on the agenda of the largely ceremonial meeting.
     

Francois Hollande, France's president, right, and Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, shake hands in the courtyard of the German Chancellory ahead of the Franco-German summit in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.
     

The two leaders met to mark the 50th anniversary of De Gaulle's speech to German youth in Ludwigsburg, a key gesture of post-war reconciliation between the wartime foes.

But Merkel and Hollande also touched upon issues including a possible merger between Airbus-maker EADS and the British defense group BAE.

The two companies announced last week that they are negotiating a merger, which would create the world's largest defense and commercial aviation company. BAE plans to obtain 40 percent in the united company, while EADS will get hold of 60 percent. The negotiations about the merger are scheduled to end on October 10.

Both governments in France and Germany, which hold major stakes in EADS, have been waiting for the merger project to be clarified before making judgments and taking decisions. Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said Friday that there would be no decisions to be made during the meeting.

The German chancellor would also discuss common banking supervision of the European Central Bank (ECB) with Hollande, Seibert said.

EU leaders decided in June to allow the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), EU's permanent bailout fund, to recapitalize banks directly instead of passing the loans through governments, on condition of a common banking supervisor in place by the beginning of 2013.

Germany and France agree on the role of ECB as the common banking supervisor, but differ on the scope of the supervision. Paris wants to the ECB to supervise all 6,000 eurozone banks, while Berlin favors the supervision of only big banks that have an impact across the eurozone.