For years, European Union federalists have hoped that one particular project would take flight: A Franco-German jet fighter. The ambitious project, planned between two major companies – Airbus, on Germany’s (and Spain’s) side, and Dassault Aviation on France’s – would have been a proof-in-concept approach to a European Union army.
Those dreams crashed to the ground this week when it was revealed that Airbus and Dassault Aviation could not come to an agreement on who would lead the project and who would follow. In 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron declared the plan “a revolution”; last week, he met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and confirmed that the project was not moving forward.
The collapse of the plane’s development reveals plenty about the state of European Union affairs. But it also reveals something about Europe’s future.
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