Decision on Franco-German fighter jet to be taken by year-end, says Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron to take a decision on the future of the Franco-German fighter jet programme FCAS by the end of the year, Merz said on Wednesday, Report informs via Reuters.

"This will not be discussed at the upcoming government consultations (on Thursday and Friday in the south of France)," Merz told journalists in Berlin.

"I hope we will find a solution because we need to develop a new fighter jet in Europe," he added.

Berlin blames French industry for blocking the next phase in the development of the FCAS programme, estimated to cost more than 100 billion euros ($117 billion), by demanding sole leadership of the project, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

France's Dassault Aviation, which is responsible for the core crewed fighter part of the project, declined to comment. Airbus, and Indra, are also involved in the scheme to start replacing French Rafale and German and Spanish Eurofighters with a sixth-generation fighter jet from 2040.

But Berlin and Paris are at odds over the composition of the consortium. France has told Germany it wants a work-share of some 80% in FCAS, a defence industry source told Reuters in July.