Restructuring and regrouping European industry, Hervé Morin
Passing through Northwood to inaugurate theOperation Atalanta OHQ and celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Franco-British declaration of Saint-Malo, with his British counterpart, John Hutton, the French Minister of Defense Hervé Morin also (re)affirmed his desire to restructure the French defense industry and European. He had already partly explained it in Deauville. This is even more precise...
A screening of the situation. "J've asked French manufacturers to engage in discussions with our European partners. And of course with our British partners. Our natural industrial partner is the UK; the reason is simple: we both still have a defense industry and spend money; many things have been done in the past with the UK (eg the Jaguar). "
A high level group will work on these issues, “carry out a precise analysis of skills and technologies, to see what each other can share. In France, I gave a mandate to the DGA (General Armament Delegation) to do this work.” When the time comes, the Minister does not exclude " as Hutton has proposed to chair this high-level group at ministerial level, in order to give the necessary political impetus».
Stop duplicates first, consolidate later. “I want us to stop having design offices doing the same thing in all our countries. I want us to have more new joint programs, and in the short or medium term lead to groupings – in the form of joint ventures or others. And the minister adds: “If we don't do this, given the weakness of the European budget, in a few years, Europeans will only have one supplier, an American manufacturer. And, despite all my friendship for the United States, I do not want French industry to disappear tomorrow.
(NGV)
Photo: Hervé Morin © NGV