(26 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
AGENCY POOL
Paris, France – 26 April 2024
1. Medium of German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu arriving for press briefing
2. SOUNDBITE (French) Sebastien Lecornu, French Defence Minister:
“The heart of the agreement is to say that in 2040 we will have the same tank because there is no scenario in which the two armies are not engaged globally against the same adversary or in any case under the same joint training conditions. And then, in the light of our needs, we come to an agreement on the distribution for our manufacturers, so that there is obviously a balance. Politically and economically, it’s important."
3. Mid of Pistorius and Lecornu signing defense agreements, posing for photo
4. German and French Defence Ministers arriving for press briefing
5. SOUNDBITE (German) Boris Pistorius, German Defence Minister:
"But I also want to make it clear that it is also an expression of what the French president said in his recent speech. We need a European understanding for the armaments industry, for the development of armaments in Europe. In view of the developments in the world, we must develop the best solutions in the armaments sector in Europe, certainly not in the short term – that will not succeed – but in the medium and long term. The best solutions are best from Europe."
6. Wide of Lecornu and Pistorius
STORYLINE:
The Defence Ministers of France and Germany on Friday signed a jointly planned agreement in Paris on Friday on a ground combat tank.
The jointly financed MGCS, or Main Ground Combat System, is intended as a successor to the Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks currently used by Germany and France.
It is also meant to send a signal of European cooperation in defence policy, though there have been tensions between the two countries over details in recent years.
At the heart of the agreement is that both Germany and France will have the same tank in 2040, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.
“There is no scenario in which the two armies are not engaged globally against the same adversary or in any case under the same joint training conditions,” he added, stating that the agreement was both politically and economically significant.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed similar views to his counterpart, calling for the development of the arms industry in Europe.
"We must develop the best solutions in the armaments sector in Europe, certainly not in the short term – that will not succeed – but in the medium and long term," said Pistorius.
"The best solutions are best from Europe," he added.
The planned system is a counterpart to the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, fighter jet project that France, Germany and Spain have already agreed to develop. Germany is to take the lead role on MGCS and France on FCAS.
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