Is Airbus a metaphor for Britain’s relationship with the EU?

A French member of the board of Airbus – the giant European aircraft and aerospace group – once told me that the French thought of it as their company while the Germans thought it theirs. In reality, both countries own it: the French state owns 11 per cent of Airbus capital, Germany 10.9 per cent and Spain 4.17 per cent, with the remaining shares quoted on Euronext. Assembly of Airbus planes from across Europe takes place in Toulouse, where the company’s operational headquarters are located, but the company’s official registered headquarters are in Leiden, Netherlands. For Brussels, Airbus is a model of European integration and EU strategic autonomy. But the invisible ingredient is the UK. In practice, Britain is one of the biggest partners of Airbus commercial aircraft, Airbus defence, space and missile production. Indeed Britain’s relationship with Airbus mirrors its relationship with the EU.

The Airbus consortium was founded in 1970 by Germany’s Messerschmidt-Bölkow-Blohm, VFW-Fokker and France’s Aérospatiale, later to be joined by Spain’s CASA.