BIRMINGHAM, England, Oct 7 (Reuters) – The proposed $45
billion merger between EADS and BAE Systems
must ensure British security and jobs are preserved, finance
minister George Osborne said on Sunday, just three days before a
deadline for detailing the deal.
Tensions over the supermerger have spilled into the open in
recent days as France, Britain and Germany jockey over the role
of the state in what would be the world’s largest aerospace and
arms group.
“Our approach to this has been to make it very clear that
our priorities are of course the national security of the United
Kingdom, second: jobs and investment in the UK,” finance
minister George Osborne told Sky television.
“Those are the tests against which we are judging the
proposal brought to us by these two companies,” Osborne said.
EADS and BAE announced plans for a merger last month, but
their efforts have become snagged on differences over control
between France and Germany, while there are also political
concerns about jobs.
A person familiar with the negotiations said one of the
points in dispute was where the new group would be based.
The German government would like an important part of the
company, or indeed possibly its headquarters, to be based in
Germany, the source said, adding: “It’s like a round of
collective bargaining”.
Time is running out before a UK regulatory deadline of Oct.
10 for a blueprint of the deal, which affects national security
interests on both sides of the Atlantic.
