EADS slams Europe over defense industry policies

[September 27, 2013]  PARIS (AP) -- The top executive at Airbus' parent company, EADS, has criticized the European Union for being slow to integrate its defense industry.

Tom Enders says he's skeptical of the outcome of the upcoming EU defense summit in December, adding that any progress will have to come from the leaders of France and Britain, not via Brussels.

Enders told reporters in Paris, "We are further away from a common EU foreign and security policy than at any time in the last 20 years."

He said Germany is unwilling to take the lead, and other countries lack the financial muscle power, "so that means France and the U.K. must lead the way."

Enders added "How can Europe be taken seriously when it continues with the fragmentation it demonstrates today?"

[Associated Press]

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