Germany's defence minister warned in a magazine article on Saturday against the French gaining too much influence in aerospace group EADS as signs emerged that a company crisis was rekindling Franco-German tensions.
"We must prevent things from moving in the direction of the French," Franz-Josef Jung was quoted as saying in Der Spiegel. His comments come ahead of a Thursday meeting in Paris between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac at which the problems surrounding EADS, the parent of jet maker Airbus, are to be discussed.
Formed in 2000 from a merger of leading German and French aerospace firms, EADS's shares have tumbled due to long delays in the rollout of its A380 superjumbo - the plane it had hoped would deliver a knockout punch to US rival Boeing.
The world's largest airliner is now running two years behind schedule as engineers struggle to overcome wiring problems. In response, the company has vowed to cut costs, saying deep changes are needed at its network of manufacturing sites.
EADS has pledged to consult workers before selling plants or cutting jobs, but that has not allayed fears in Germany that the 12,000 staff who work for the firm in the northern port city of Hamburg are at risk.
The problems are rekindling Franco-German tensions that have plagued the firm since its creation and burst into the open last year amid a vicious battle for management control led by Noel Forgeard - the Frenchman who launched the A380 project and was forced out of the company three months ago.
German magazine Wirtschsaftswoche reported on Saturday that government experts in Berlin were discussing changes to a law governing foreign investment in sensitive German sectors amid fears of foreign state influence on EADS. Berlin has a veto right if foreigners take more than a 25 percent stake in a firm with links to German security interests.
The article said the government was concerned the law may not apply if countries like France or Russia sought to boost their stakes in EADS. The Economy Ministry had no immediate comment on the report.
The French government owns 15 percent of EADS, while German car maker DaimlerChrysler and French media group Lagardere are reducing their stakes to 22.5 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.
Last month a Russian state bank bought a 5 percent stake in the firm. Speculation surfaced over the past week that Berlin could take a stake in the firm to safeguard its interests, but the government has said it has no current plans to do so.
The rising tensions came as questions swirled about the future of Airbus Chief Executive Christian Streiff.
Airbus was forced to deny a report on Friday that Streiff, who took the reins only three months ago, had resigned. Parent EADS conspicuously denied comment on the report.
Reuters was told by a source close to the matter that Streiff had pledged to resign if his bold proposals on reforming Airbus were not implemented - a danger if Germany and France stand in the way of any job cuts. German politicians warned EADS on Saturday that a failure to safeguard jobs could put looming arms deals at risk.
"The company needs to be clear that it lives from the money of German taxpayers," Steffen Kampeter, a budget expert for Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
He said the budget committee of the German parliament faced decisions on 3 to 4 billion euros in contracts for EADS over the next year and urged Berlin to use this leverage as the Airbus parent prepares to cut costs.
Among the EADS products Germany has on order are the A400M military transport plane, Eurofighter combat jets and Tiger helicopters. EADS has dual headquarters in Paris and Munich, and big production sites in Hamburg and Toulouse in southern France.
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