"Today there are too many European standards and qualifications and sometimes there is competition among Europeans internationally," French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference, flanked by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "It is a sign to the British. It means 'you are leaving the EU and we are driving forward. We are no longer interested in you blocking the EU on defence'," a senior German defence industry official told Reuters.The joint declaration did not say what role, if any, Britain would play in the Franco-German-led development. "It is almost inevitable that the UK would consider a new partnership with America for the next generation of fighters," said Alexandra Ashbourne-Walmsley, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a think-tank based in London.

Source: Economic Times July 13, 2017 12:50 UTC