(Alliance News) - A troubled joint Franco-German fighter jet project has not failed, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, amid fears the Future Combat Air System programme could collapse.

Asked at an informal EU leader summit in Cyprus whether the FCAS project, which also involves Spain, had failed, Macron said: "No, not at all."

He added that he had held constructive talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the issue.

The two countries' defence ministries have been tasked with working on various areas and different issues over the coming weeks, Macron said, adding that this was not just about FCAS but European security as a whole.

"Europe has never needed unity, greater independence and greater sovereignty as much as it does now."

FCAS is due to enter operation in 2040 and designed to fly in conjunction with drones, ultimately replacing Germany's Eurofighter and France's Rafale fighter jets. Rafale jets are made by

If realized, FCAS would be the largest and most expensive European armaments project. The total costs are estimated at hundreds of billions of euros.

The companies involved - Dassault Systemes SE, Airbus SE's Airbus Germany and Spain's Indra Sistemas SA - have so far failed to reach an agreement on the construction of the jet, however.

Recent talks involving two mediators have not yielded a mutually acceptable outcome. A failure would be a major setback for European defence cooperation and Franco-German relations.

source: DPA

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